


In Too Deep

by HannaSedai



Category: Teen Titans (Animated Series)
Genre: Gen, apprentice au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-15
Updated: 2016-10-15
Packaged: 2018-08-09 01:25:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 39,906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7781476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HannaSedai/pseuds/HannaSedai
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Robin's made plenty of bad choices, and Red X is perhaps the worst of all. But what if his first encounter with Slade had ended differently? What if Robin continued playing the part of Red X…even if it was against his will?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Masks

**Author's Note:**

> OK, so I wrote this fic a few years ago, and while it's not my favorite apprentice fic that I've written a lot of people on FF enjoyed it because so many people asked for this particular story, so I'll post it here! I wrote this fic more as an experiment in POV and writing style, and it is different from the others I've written...  
> I hope you enjoy!

**Part 1**

**Red X. Evil intentions. Chats with an assassin.**

**Separated from friends.**

**Silence.**

* * *

 

Chapter 1: Masks

**-DG-**

This was it.

I jumped quietly down into the room where the chip was being held. It had been easy enough getting past the guards. Truthfully, I surprised myself at how easy it had been. It was easier than dodging Ra's al Ghul's security guards, I can tell you.

_If Bruce knew about this…_

I mentally shook myself. This plan would work and Bruce would be none the wiser. Everything was going to work out. I wasn't stupid. I made sure that I cleaned up my trail. By the end of the night I would be back at the Tower with enough information to put Slade in jail. When the Titans eventually figured out that I was Red X then they would forgive me for lying to them once I caught Slade. At least I hoped that they would.

As I walked towards the end of the room, where the chip floated in midair, I remembered the many conversation we had before I undertook this latest mission. It had taken a lot of grueling undercover work juts to get Slade's contact information. The guy was pretty hard to find. Of course, the only leads I had were the words of the HIVE kids and the medallion that Slade left behind when he manipulated Thunder and Lightning. As I headed towards my target I thought back to our last conversation.

I _nearly sat on the edge of my seat, waiting somewhat nervously for Slade's response. Even through the webcam his face was still hidden in shadow. That still annoyed me. Of course, I didn't show my face either, so I suppose that we were square._

_For the past few nights Slade had been patient with me, slowly chiding me for mistakes like a child. Did he always talk that way to people? Was his ego so large that he always talked down to people? He seemed to be that kind of person. I didn't like it. Not one bit. A patient criminal was the one who would screw you up the most._

_"Impressive, Red X. I tapped the security cameras to catch your performance. You treated the Titans to quite a show."_

_"Glad you enjoyed it. Is the audition over?"_

_"Patience. Trust is easy to destroy, but takes time to build. One last test to prove yourself…and then we'll meet to discuss your future."_

_He logged off and disappeared from the screen. His last sentence irritated me. Who was he to lecture? But it didn't matter. I wasn't going to listen to him or his lectures. This was just an act. Words and actions meant nothing unless my heart was into them._

_"Good," I said, pulling Red X's mask off of my face, "it's about time we meet face-to-face."_

_Later that evening I received an email with my instructions. I noted that all_ _of the technology he wanted me to steal were compatible with one another, despite being made in different companies. Well, it was either that or they were easy for someone to modify. I would have to ask Cyborg._

_Once Slade gave me my assignment I didn't waste any time. Although I hated stealing I knew that it had to be done to gain Slade's trust. I immediately made a plan of action. I ignored the little voice in my head telling me that this was a stupid idea and figured out how to do it._

And now here I was, turning my back on everything Batman taught me for the sake of justice. How ironic. If I were younger then I would have cracked a bad pun about it. But now wasn't the time for that. I wasn't a kid anymore. I can take care of myself.

This was the culmination of many weeks of work. After all of this time I would finally find out what Slade was up to. I had so many questions to ask him once I gained his trust. Was he the one who ordered Cinderblock to release Plasmus? If we hadn't foiled his plan, then what would he have done? Why did he hire the HIVE kids to take us down? I didn't know, but at least tonight I would begin to get some answers.

I reached out to take the floating green computer chip.

"Excellent work. Honestly, I couldn't have done better myself."

I gripped the chip tightly in my gloved hand and turned around. A figure appeared from the shadows. I recognized his profile from our many webcam conversations, but this was the first time I saw Slade in person. The mask hid my surprise. He had followed me here? Probably. Disregarding this, I turned to face him and spoke with as much arrogance as I could.

"So, do we have a deal?"

Slade's mask was expressionless. I hadn't seen much of him in our conversations beforehand. Now that he was standing in the light I could see his full costume. He was a large man whose broad build reminded me somewhat of Bruce. It's strange how I keep comparing people to Bruce, but for some reason this guy reminded me of him. That feeling would only grow as time went on. I didn't notice this before, but Slade only had one eye. How strange.

His mask, though, was an enigma. It covered his entire face. The only part of him that expressed any sort of emotion was his eye. I knew at once that this was the sort of man one did not mess around with. Well, I could tell from my past conversations that he was like that, but seeing him in person made all of the difference. He held the air of a former military man. He was a no-nonsense kind of guy. All the more reason to exercise caution.

"Indeed. You and I are…so very much alike. It seems only natural that we should be partners."

Slade held out his hand. Instead of taking his hand, however, I held up the computer chips. I couldn't trust him quite yet. I didn't want to trust him. But still, I had this act to keep up. I couldn't stop now…not when I was so close to achieving my goal.

"What are these for? I need to know what we're planning…partner."

"Patience. You can't expect me to trust you with such sensitive information right away, can you…Robin?"

A net appeared out of nowhere and caught the computer chips. Slade's words caught me by surprise, so much that I could hardly speak. I barely made a move to retrieve the computer chips as I stood shock still, still trying to comprehend what had just happened.

_What?_

How on earth had I given myself away? The lights switched on. I tensed as hundreds of robots stormed into the room. I didn't have my friends with me. I felt the slightest hint of cold fear in my stomach as I assumed a fighting position.

I thought about pulling out my communicator and calling for help, but something held me back. For the past few weeks I had lied to all of them in order to get closer to Slade. It was the only way to approach an unapproachable man. They thought that I was back at the Tower doing research on Slade, not out here dressed as a villain and dealing with villains. While I could be sure that they would come to help me, a part of me dreaded the inevitable coldness and shouting matches that would occur between us.

I dreaded their reactions to my betrayal of trust.

"Now, really," Slade said, "there's no need to fight. We're only here to talk."

I had been led straight into a trap. How incredibly stupid of me. Yet as I stood there I knew that Slade was lying. From my experience criminals like Slade didn't just want to "talk." He didn't seriously expect me to come quietly, did he? If he intended to capture me here then I wasn't going to go down without a fight.

"When you have a hundred robots against me?" I asked. "How long were you waiting to ambush me?"

Slade stepped forward. I tensed automatically. Even though I knew that if I didn't have backup soon I would lose, I still prepared myself to fight. He adjusted one of his gloves calmly before turning his attention back to me.

"Honestly, did you expect your plan to work?" Slade asked, amusement evident in his voice. "Such childish optimism. Still, you tricked enough people to fool the press and your friends. You just failed to trick me."

Again, I wondered what I did wrong. While I hated that amused tone he used I knew that it was true. But if Slade figured it out then it was possible that someone else could. A shiver ran down my spine as I thought of all of the different possibilities. Other villains could have figured it out. The Titans could figure it out. Bruce could…

"You double-crossed me!" I shouted.

"Unfortunately, Robin, I expect everyone to double-cross me. I can't just trust anyone now, can I?" Slade asked. "You, on the other hand, are too quick to trust people. I'm sure your mentor would be disappointed."

"He has nothing to do with this," I spat. "I'm here to take you down, Slade."

I hated that jab at Batman. I hated when anyone made a jab about Batman. When I first moved to Jump City everyone always assumed that Batman was around town as well. I had to make it clear that I wasn't working with him anymore. Working with the Titans had helped…somewhat.

And as for that jab about trusting people…well, I trusted people more than Bruce did. Slade was also wrong: I wasn't that quick to trust people. Certainly, I thought him to be a man who kept his word. I guess I was at least wrong about that.

"As I am."

As I leapt towards him the Sladebots sprang into action. Even though I knew that it was a lost fight I fought anyway. A part of me wanted to see how long I would in this fight all by myself. Slade stood there as he watched his robots attack me.

The coward.

Did he really believe that he was that good? So good that he didn't even have to deal with me himself? However, he didn't leave. He just watched me fight them, not saying a word. The longer I fought the more I realized that I needed the Titans to back me up. After dodging a Sladebot I reached into my belt and pulled out my communicator.

Almost immediately it exploded in my hand. I dropped it in surprise before the sudden sparks could burn a hole in my glove. Slade, who had been standing there so passively before, had a gun out, its tip still smoking. I punched one of his Sladebots and turned towards him furiously.

"You won't—!"

Slade cut me off by firing the gun again. I stopped yelling to duck out of the way, rolling swiftly on the floor to avoid the bullet. He could easily gun me down, but why didn't he? Did he enjoy watching people suffer or what?

The fight didn't last much longer.

That was the beauty of an ambush, which unfortunately Slade pulled off quite well. He wasn't here for a fight. He was here to win in as fast as possible. One of the larger robots yanked me roughly backwards by my cape and caught me around the middle. I activated one of the weapons hidden in my glove designed to slice through metal. However, this plan was hastily remedied as the robot slammed me against a wall. Stars popped in front of my eyes as I hung limply in the robot's arms.

"Ah…" Slade said, finally speaking, "can't let you cheat now with your new toys now, can I?"

The blow made me discombobulated. I blinked several times to clear my hazy vision. The beginning pangs of a headache began to pound against the walls of my skull. I lifted my head and found Slade staring straight at my face. He reached out and took off my Red X mask. For a moment I thought I saw surprise in Slade's eye. He must not have expected me to be wearing my regular mask underneath my Red X one. Slade could have easily taken off my real mask right then and there, but he didn't. He studied my face with his single eye for a moment as I tried to squirm my way out of the robot's arms.

"Coward!" I shouted desperately. "Fight me!"

Slade ignored me, although I could tell that I was getting on his nerves. His single eye had narrowed and his stance suggested that he was ready to punch me. Good. I wanted to get on his nerves. Sometimes the only way to beat men like him was to get on his nerves. Once he began to get flustered then he would lose his cool. Bruce was like that.

"You're not going to get away with this!" I exclaimed. "The Titans will be here any minute!"

Surely the building's security would have picked up the fight by now. The others had to be on their way! I hoped that they would be on their way. For a few moments I allowed my desperation to overcome my fear of being discovered that I was Red X. Despite my fear of being discovered I wanted them to come and help me. We were a team, after all.

In that moment I realized that I was in over my head. I shouldn't have gone into this mission by myself. I should have told someone that I was going to face Slade alone. This was stupid. I walked right in here without thinking that Slade would be tracking me. I should have called my friends the moment I knew I was surrounded before Slade had the chance to destroy my communicator.

"I'm sure they will be," Slade replied, "which is why we have to leave now."

_Leave…now…?_

He reached into his utility belt and pulled out a piece of cloth. At first I thought he was going to gag me, but then I recognized the smell almost at once. I jerked my head backwards and held my breath, but it didn't do any good. Slade hit me across the face and I let go of the breath I was holding. He jammed the cloth right into my face, holding my head still with the same hand.

"Sorry, but I'd rather not hit you on the head," Slade said, "this is just assuming that you would prefer not to have a concussion…?"

"I'd prefer not to be knocked…out…" I was falling fast. My head fell forward onto my chest. "Screw…you…Slade…"

My words fell on deaf ears. As I begin to slip into unconsciousness I wished that my friends were here to help me. Even though I pushed them away to catch Slade I wanted them here now. Ever since my parents died I didn't want to be alone again. That was the worst feeling in the world. And if I had to deal with this monster alone…

"I know, Robin, but trust me: you'll wake up with a whole new perspective. This is just the beginning."

My flailing began to subside. It was no use struggling now. I inhaled too much of the stuff to even hope to regain consciousness. I resigned myself to the fact that I would have to deal with Slade when I woke up. However, even in those hazy moments between consciousness and unconsciousness I thought that Slade's words were…strange.

_What…does he mean by…th… ?_


	2. It Begins

-SW-

This was _my_ city.

There is something thrilling about taking over a city. Of course, the city wasn't mine quite yet, but it would be soon. This was my city in the fact that I had total control of the criminal underground. I stood in front of the television screens with my hands behind my back, silently watching the security cameras I placed all around the sleeping city.

The gears clicked incessantly around me. While the noise could drive some people to madness (the HIVE Headmistress didn't quite like my choice in décor) I found the noise soothing. It was better than listening to the bad memories that threatened to play restlessly in my head.

I looked up when my Sladebots entered the room. I gestured mutely to the other side of the room, not even bothering to watch my Sladebots dump Robin unceremoniously onto the ground. For the time being, I was going to ignore him. Until he woke up I had no interest in dealing with him. I would use the time that I had to put my plans into action.

William Wintergreen, an old British butler and a good friend of mine, walked into the room. He was a former soldier getting along in years, but ever since I saved him from the Vietnam prison camps he's been by my side ever since. He glanced down at Robin and then back to me.

"So you were correct, then, Sir."

"I usually am."

"If you truly intend to take him on as your student, then I suggest that you treat him with a bit more dignity," Wintergreen said. "Don't restrain him. It'll make him nervous."

Yes, I could have had the Sladebots dump him somewhere softer, but he would be fine. He's handled much worse than this. Besides, there were certain lessons that I wanted to pound into his head before I do anything else.

"I need him to listen to me, Will," I replied. "I don't like it either, but he won't listen unless he has no other choice. Once he understands the ground rules then I'll let him go."

Wintergreen raised his eyebrows but said nothing. It didn't take a genius to tell that he disagreed with me. While I understood that he didn't actually care for the boy yet I knew that he was merely offering advice to help me achieve my goal. It was good advice. But once the boy started treating me with respect then I would treat him with respect. Simple as that.

"I'm not going to torture the boy," I said. I didn't know if I felt affronted or not at Wintergreen's silence. "Relax."

He continued to stare at me with that expression of slight disapproval. But, like always, I ignored it. Wintergreen knew all about my profession. He knew that I did worse than torture people on a daily basis. I kill for money. After all, I am a professional assassin. It's part of the job description. Will, however, was a different matter. After being a prisoner-of-war in Vietnam…I understood why he didn't like this arrangement.

"I am still of the opinion that you should have chosen a _willing_ apprentice," he said coolly. "This boy will bring you trouble, I guarantee it. His disappearance will not go unnoticed for long. Eventually the Titans and the Justice League will come after you."

"If the Titans or the Justice League make any move to find him then we'll move. I won't let him leave until I can trust him to run errands."

 _Under my supervision, of course,_ I thought dryly. While I wished that I could trust him now I knew that it wouldn't be possible. I couldn't trust and I knew that he couldn't trust me either. Yet.

"I'm just saying that if it comes to a standoff, will you be able to handle the wrath of the entire Justice League by yourself?"

"Is that even a question?" I snapped back. "I've already taken precautionary measures against the kid's guardian and the Justice League. The Titans won't be a problem."

Almost at once I felt sorry for snapping at him, but I didn't apologize. On his part, Wintergreen accepted the verbal abuse without comment. If that had been Adeline I had yelled at, I might have gotten a punch to the face.

_Or another bullet to the eye._

"I was merely being curious, Sir."

Without another word to me he continued to clean the room, rubbing the dust from the computer screens with perhaps a tad more aggression than he normally employed. I looked away. Will and I would always have our disagreements, but he always sided with me. But no matter…I had other things to worry about now.

When I first realized that he was Red X I felt a tad bit annoyed. At first I thought of Red X as nothing but a common thief. A wild card who would do anything for the now, and a cleverly dangerous one at that. He put most of the HIVE graduates to shame. While I didn't feel threatened I knew that, if Red X had been a genuine thief, I would eventually have to take him down.

Imagine my surprise, then, when I discovered that Robin was the one hiding under the mask. He made several mistakes that allowed me to deduce that it was him. His tenacity, however, impressed me. I would have never expected the Dark Knight's protégée to go to such lengths to bring me to justice.

I smirked to myself.

I half-expected his friends to barge in on us like the nosy little brats that they are, but they hadn't shown up. Robin must have hidden his footprints well to make sure that they wouldn't follow him. If they had shown up then I would have waited to meet Robin some other time. I was a patient man. I could wait. If I had been forced to wait then I could have observed Robin for a little longer. Make sure that I made the right choice…

 _No,_ I thought, _I made the right choice. I can't second guess myself_.

I switched the video cameras. The screens flickered from footage of the city to live footage of Titans Tower. The teens were sitting in their living room, apparently unaware that their leader was missing. I quickly scanned their faces. The changeling was playing a video game with the cyborg. The quiet empath was ignoring them and reading a book. However, the normally bubbly alien girl was sitting quietly on the couch. I studied her face for a moment before rewinding the video footage.

I switched to Robin's workroom. I watched the alien girl step into the room, calling out Robin's name. She knocked over the small hologram, accidentally causing it to play. I paused the video and sighed.

She knows, I thought. I made a mental note to check in on her more often. Even though that alien girl held a ditzy air I knew that she was dangerous. Tamaraneans were a warrior race. This Starfire could cause some real damage if she put her mind to it. But she didn't know that Robin would be working for me yet. So long as I kept out of the spotlight for a while they wouldn't suspect that I was behind his disappearance. Although it wouldn't hurt to send out a false lead to suggest that his disappearance was caused by another villain.

But the Titans knew that he was trailing me, I thought, I would be the first suspect on their list.

Honestly, though, I didn't expect to find Robin trailing me so closely. And even when he was deliberately breaking into tech companies he didn't bother to fake them. If I knew that it was him from the beginning I would have expected him to tell the companies in advance. But he didn't. Was that because he didn't feel the need to? That everything and everyone would be complacent and go according to plan?

This had been the last test. Yes, he had several faults that needed to be fixed, but that wasn't anything that training couldn't handle. In fact, I expected him to make mistakes. He may have more experience than most his age, however he was still young. While I could gloat over the fact that I won I knew that a victory over a teenager was hardly cause for celebration.

"Have the Titans realized that he is missing yet?" Wintergreen asked.

"No," I replied. "They think he is still researching me. Well, in a way he is now…"

Neither of us laughed. I didn't quite mean that as a joke. I wasn't much of a jokester anyway, not like the boy was in his early days. I supposed that is one of the few differences between us: his smart-aleck nature. From what I could tell, he had put away that side of him when he moved to Jump City. Perhaps I could coax it back out again.

Then again, I could be assuming too much. I knew a lot about the boy, but I didn't know him well as a person. There was only so much that I could glean from our previous conversations. There is a lot more to a man when he is broken down. There was no doubt in my mind that I would have to break Robin mentally down. Once I assessed all of his weaknesses and hit his self-esteem hard in the gut then I could develop the right techniques for changing the way he thought about the world. A paradigm shift for him, so to speak.

Instead of chiding me for my decision Wintergreen began to bustle around the room, dusting off the computers to make sure that the Haunt was suitable for our new guest. Despite the fact that I knew he would feel…what was the term Wintergreen used…nervous…there were other things I could do to make him feel more at ease.

I ran through several options in my head as I worked out a plan to turn him. I wasn't going to wait until he agreed with me to train him, though. I was going to have to gradually ease him into a routine; trick him into training with me willingly. Yes, it wasn't ideal, but it would do. I thought back to the few conversations we had when he masqueraded as Red X.

_A costumed figure that I had never seen before popped on screen. Hmm…perhaps I would deign to grant him an audience. I was immediately struck by the young man's cocky attitude._

_"Rumor has it you're interested in this." The thief held up a green computer chip._

_Ah. Something about this thief seemed…off. I studied him through the webcam. I would play along for a bit and see what the kid wanted._

_"I'm interested in many things, Mr…?"_

_"X. Red X."_

_"Hmm. Catchy. So are you proposing a sale…or a gift?"_

_"A partnership. I will give you the chip and you cut me in on your plans."_

_At once I understood what was bothering me: this was not a true thief. It was Robin. All at once the gears began to click in my mind. All at once I could not believe that Robin, the Batman's protégée, had done this. Another part of me grudgingly admired him for his brilliance. I have always admired Batman for his skills alone. Even without superpowers he was a formidable opponent. His protégée was just the same._

_Although I knew that I would have eventually figured out that it was him Robin had given himself away with the word "partnership." However, for a brief moment I considered the possibility. While I had been throwing clues for him to unravel for a while this single act had cemented Robin's future. He proved to me that he could be as ruthless as he needed to be to achieve his goals. This was the one._

_"A partnership. My, my, we are ambitious." I narrowed my eye. "But an alliance cannot be forged on one small chip. If you're going to win my trust, I'll require more."_

_"Just tell me what you want."_

_I smiled underneath my mask. For some time I had been searching for an apprentice…someone to follow in my footsteps. I hadn't even considered a Titan before…much less Robin, the Boy Wonder. But I had to admit that out of all five, Robin was the most dangerous. His willingness to do whatever it took to take me down impressed me._

_"There's one more thing I require," I said, "there is a third chip. Security might be upped since you stole the last two, so if you think you can handle it…"_

_"Of course I can!" 'Red X' snapped._

_Hmm. The boy had a bit of a short fuse, didn't he? Good. It would be easy to mess him up, then. Of course, for me it was easy to trip any kid up, but Robin was a clever boy. He would catch on quickly._

_I told him what I needed. Although I knew that he was secretly seething underneath the mask I could tell that he was listening intently. Even now he was listening to me, showing me some respect, even if he grudgingly gave it. He was alert and paid attention to detail. No doubt that flying rodent taught him that. No matter. Batman gave him the basics. I would build upon them._

I came back to reality.

Robin lay curled on the floor with his hands tied behind his back. He wouldn't remain out for long. I had to do it so that he wouldn't cause too much trouble trying to escape. I also didn't want him to try to call the other Titans or see the way to the Haunt. That's why I destroyed his communicator. The less contact he had with his friends the better. Although it would be amusing to see them fight one another, I had no leverage to use against him.

Yes, I had planned to blackmail him, but this way would be better. If I proceeded with the blackmail then it would do nothing but allow him to funnel all his anger towards me. It would give him another, much stronger reason to hate me. Instead, I would redirect his anger at me towards his friends and his mentor. Once those doubts were planted firmly in his head then I would allow him to meet with the Titans again. There were things I could say and doubt to cement those doubts firmly in his mind. He would come naturally to my side rather than be forced to my side.

"Sir," Wintergreen said in the silence, "He's bleeding."

I glanced quickly over my shoulder to see Wintergreen examining a gash on Robin's forehead. The Sladebots had been pretty rough with him. However, I didn't want him hurt too badly. A beaten-up apprentice wasn't going to learn anything. Well, he would get a few bruises now and then, but that's all part of the learning process.

"Leave it," I said. "You can take care of that later."

"Are you sure?" Wintergreen looked down at him. "Patching him up might put him in a better mood."

I entertained the thought briefly, but then shook my head. "No. If it's not life-threatening then leave him alone."

Oh, once the kid woke up we would definitely discuss his future. He had been naïve to trust me to keep my word. I would have to fix that. However, when I said that it was only natural that we should be partners I meant it. I am a man of my word. To truly be partners would require more than just computer chips on his part. In a way, he had sealed his own fate by agreeing to steal the chips for me: he proved that he was capable of bringing out the dark side of himself.

I began to examine his belt, which one of the Sladebots had taken away from him. For someone as young as he is to make something like this is admirable, but I began to shake my head when I opened the power core.

"Xinothium…" I said to myself.

Just as I had suspected. The kid had been dumb enough to power his suit with Xinothium. If he hadn't used it then it might have taken me a little longer to guess that he was Red X. Surely he realized how dangerous Xinothium was…

 _Yes, he's perfectly aware of how dangerous it is,_ I thought. _But he still did it._

I smiled again. It was fascinating watching Robin do this to himself. Whether he knew it or not he was a thrill-seeker. Even when he knew that something was dangerous or stupid he still did it. That wasn't a desirable trait. True, I was once reckless, but I knew better now. If this mistake to masquerade as Red X didn't quell his recklessness then I would have to beat it out of him. I will have to teach him how to use his recklessness to his advantage, rather than let himself make stupid decisions because of it.

I heard him move. I looked down at him again. Despite the blindfold around his eyes I could see his brow furrowing. He would come back to consciousness in a few moments. He stirred slightly against his restraints.

"Will," I said in a low voice, "once I'm done talking to him take him to his room. You can also patch up that gash too."

_And any other injuries that may come up in our little "talk."_

Wintergreen nodded. Robin probably wouldn't be too pleased to see me in this manner, but now that he was here I had to make the best of this. One wrong move and everything would fall apart. I had to make him see things my way. He didn't know it yet, but I already made my decision to choose him as an apprentice. Call me stupid for choosing him, but it was clear to me that he was the best choice.

For a moment I wondered whether or not it would be wise to tell him outright that he was going to be my student. Lying there unconscious on the floor, he looked so weak…so vulnerable…but I knew that he was far from that. Wintergreen was right: he was dangerous not just for his potential to beat me but for his connection to the cape community. I quickly assessed the situation.

For me to be successful, I would have to take Robin away from his friends. I would have to convince him that my way was the best way. It didn't matter if I already knew what was best for him. To be able to manipulate him correctly I would have to think like him; maybe even anticipate his thoughts and feelings. If I were in his position I would feel very much like a prisoner. I suspected that is what he how be feeling like for some time. It cannot be helped. So long as he has that attitude I might have no choice but to treat him like one until I can trust him.

 _No,_ I thought, _I shouldn't tell him right away. Let him think I'm the villain. Use his new persona against him._

I concluded that telling him that he was my apprentice right away might make him hate me even more. But soon I would turn that hatred against me into hatred against those he believed to be friends. The boy was awake now. He doubled over and began to cough, unaware that I was in the room with him. I uncrossed my arms. First impressions were important, and one could only plan a conversation so far ahead.

Well, there was no turning back from this now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next update will be on Friday. Read and review!


	3. No Way Out

**-DG-**

One of the first things I noticed when I woke up was that my hands were bound behind my back. My Xinothuim-powered utility belt had, of course, been taken away from me. That wasn't a surprise. I felt the cool, hard metal floor pressed against my cheek. With a panic I thought that Slade had removed both of my masks, but it appeared as though he had only removed the Red X one.

Although I was blindfolded, I noticed that I wasn't gagged. Slightly disorientated, I coughed and swallowed. My hands already felt numb from being tied behind my back for too long.

Forcing myself to relax, I tried to listen and feel for clues about my location. One of the first things I noticed were the constant clicking of gears churning above me. So I was in…some sort of warehouse? If I was, where in Jump City was I?

"So…Red X. When did you come up with that name?"

The hair on the back of my neck rose. Gooseflesh riddled my skin as I twisted around, trying to find the source of the voice. I heard someone walking near me. I could only assume that it was Slade. Who else would it be?

"Why are you even pretending to be interested?" I demanded. "If you knew it was me, then why didn't you say anything before?"

Had Slade been playing me all along? A sick feeling in the pit of my stomach told me that he had. However, I refused to believe it. How could I believe it? How could I have made a mistake? Even though I had no idea where he was I began to work at the knots. Slade noticed.

"Were you ever a Boy Scout?"

"I don't have to be one to know my knots."

"I see. I suppose Batman taught you everything that you know."

I didn't like the fact that he kept bringing up Bruce. Not even the other Titans brought up Batman around me. They knew it was a touchy subject. Besides, what right did Slade have to talk about Bruce? None whatsoever.

"That's none of your business."

Where was Slade? What did he want with me? Did he want to torture me for playing the part of Red X? Was he just going to stand there and gloat or what? On the other hand, he seemed to be making awkward small talk.

"What do you want?" I asked again. "At least let me see you!"

Slade ignored the question. Honestly, though, I didn't expect Slade to meet my demands. Unfortunately, I've had one too many bad run-ins with Gotham's worst villains. As Slade expected people to double-cross him, so I expected villains to kill and torture their prisoners. Old habits began to kick in. I mentally prepared myself for whatever horror Slade was going to throw at me. I started as I felt his hands removing the blindfold.

The room was dimly lit, but it was enough for me to see Slade standing over me, his arms crossed over his chest. I quickly surveyed my surroundings. I seemed to be on the floor of a medium-sized room. Large television screens covered one side of the room. They glowed softly, casting us in a faint bluish light.

"A little skittish, aren't you?" Slade asked. "Are you scared, Robin?"

I grimaced. This was just his way of getting into my head. I wasn't going to let him do that. Yes, of course I was scared, but I wasn't going to show it. That would only let him screw with my head. I merely looked to the side and said nothing.

"Robin, I asked you a question."

"No."

He knew I was lying, but he said nothing about it. I would lie to him as much as I wanted to. He was a criminal mastermind. He didn't deserve anything, not even the truth.

"Well, I do suppose that will make things easier for me."

I didn't like this. Was he going to torture me? That's usually what villains meant by saying that.

"What do you want?"

"What do I want?" Slade chewed over these words, as though pretending to be thinking deeply about them. "Well, I was under the impression that we would become partners."

"Yeah, guess what: I was lying. I'll never work for you."

"Why, Robin, I'm disappointed," Slade said. "I thought we had a deal."

"Sorry, but I have a strict rule against giving stolen technology to psychos."

"How very noble of you, but stealing in order to trap me…that wasn't so noble. Two wrongs don't make a righ—"

_"Don't you ever lecture me!"_

If there was one thing I hated, then it was being lectured like a child. Although I wasn't sure if Slade meant to do it, I couldn't help but notice how much he emulated Batman. His lecturing tone held a smidge of disappointment…

Slade ignored this last comment, although I could tell that I was trying his patience. Good. Although I wasn't quite sure what he meant by "partners." Slade didn't strike me as the kind of guy who liked to work with a partner. Maybe I should have realized that before I went to steal the chip tonight.

"What do you want to do, kill me?" I asked bitterly. "Then kill me now and be done with it. I'd rather not wait."

Was he some sadistic villain who would torture me before he killed me? What would he do? This is what I've been trying to figure out all along: how Slade would hurt people.

"You're no use to me dead, boy."

I stopped struggling to consider his words. If he was going to keep me alive, then how would he benefit? Slade seemed amused.

"Let me go."

"If I let you go, then can you face your friends after everything you've done to hoodwink them?" Slade asked.

Guilt immediately washed over me. They would be furious at me for not telling them about my plan. I acted like Batman and locked myself away, obsessing over this until I figured it out. I should have realized that I was way in over my head. However, I put this thought away as I lied to Slade's face.

"They would forgive me."

"Don't lie to me."

I froze and looked up at him. He spoke with a tone of authority. Slade was used to giving orders and he was used to seeing them obeyed. I frowned. I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of giving in.

"Who do you think you are?" I demanded. "You have no right to order me around. Besides, don't you have anything better to do than lecture me?"

Was I really try to goad my captor? Yeah, it was a stupid thing to do, but I felt like picking a fight. I didn't want Slade to belittle me like this.

"Would they forgive you?" Slade asked. "How long have you known them now…a little less than a year?"

Comprehension dawned on me. I now knew what Slade intended to do: He would keep me alive for the sole purpose of watching the Titans drift apart on their own. By donning the identity of Red X I allowed him the opportunity to get rid of the Titans without him having to do anything other than hold me captive. Heck, he could have killed me and be done with it, but perhaps he wanted me to say something to them. Maybe he wanted me to say something to them to make them distrust me even more.

For a few seconds I ignored him and tried again to free myself. Despite watching the escape artists at the circus I couldn't emulate them. They never taught me any of their tricks. Slade just watched me. After a moment he spoke again.

"The alien girl knows your secret. How long do you think it'll take for her to tell them you are Red X?"

"Starfire knows?"

I couldn't stop the question from coming out of my mouth. I felt the flush creep up my neck as my cheeks burned in embarrassment. I shouldn't have to ask my enemy for information about my friends.

"Yes, she does."

A sudden urge to talk to her overcame me. I wanted to burst out of these ropes like Superman and fly back to Titans Tower. Out of all of the others she would be the one most hurt by this. And if Slade intended to rip the Titans apart, then what better way than to plant the seed of suspicion in Starfire? Once she told the team that I was Red X then their trust in me would diminish. If Slade came in to gloat that I had truly turned evil, then would that be so hard for them to believe?

"Burn in hell you freak."

Slade moved so swiftly that I almost didn't see him coming towards me. He grabbed a fistful of my shirt and yanked me forward, so close that I could see my defiant reflection on his metal mask.

"I can only take so much disrespect," he growled. "From now on you will address me with respect."

I spat in his face.

_Slap!_

The force of the blow knocked my head violently to the side. A little river of blood trickled out of the corner of my mouth, coming from a cut from the inside of my mouth. The left side of my face prickled with pain. That had hurt. My eyes widened in surprise and pain. Though why I felt surprised I don't even know…

"I'm sure Batman taught you manners," Slade said calmly. "I expected more from you."

There he was, bringing up Batman again. I looked away from him. Slade wasn't finished lecturing.

"Remember this: I follow through all of my threats, Robin. You're in my territory. You follow my rules or else you may find your stay here rather…unpleasant."

"Why should I give you respect?" I growled. "When you don't deserve it?"

Slade grabbed a fistful of my hair and yanked my head painfully backwards. I swallowed, trying not to cry out in pain. I wouldn't give him that satisfaction. Slade looked at me, and even through the mask I could tell that he was amused at my stubbornness.

"Let's make something clear right now: I'm the one in charge here," Slade said softly. "I could so easily kill you, but I won't. Right now I'm in charge of your life. If I tell you to do or say something, then I expect you to do it."

In a way, I wish he would have yelled. That cold, soft tone betrayed more of his personality than I wished to hear. Each word was spoken with quiet deliberation. Not quite the tone one used for a misbehaved child, but it was close enough for me.

"No."

I tensed, expecting him to hit me again. I knew how to take a hit. I had been beaten so much worse by Two-Face. Still, that didn't mean that it didn't hurt. I looked at Slade straight in the eye, my lips turned into a defiant frown.

"I'm sure you'll be thinking otherwise in a few hours." Slade shook his head. "Being on my good side will only make things easier for you."

I allowed myself to relax just a little, but that was what Slade had been waiting for. As soon as my guard was down he hit me across the face again. Winching, I decided to shut my big mouth.

"Your friends will never find you. Not if they believe that you have left them for good."

He's psychotic, I thought.

However, Slade had a point. What was going to stop my friends from thinking that? If I didn't return tonight they would go investigate. They would search my room and find that I had been lying to them for a while. All those nights I had been staying at the Tower, supposedly doing "research" I was actually out and about as Red X. I lied to them and committed crime. What if they told Batman? What then?

I couldn't imagine a worse situation.

"You'll pay for this," I snarled, renewing my efforts to free myself. "You can't make them hate me."

"Of course I can't. You've already done that yourself."

If his plans were to break up the Titans, then why was he keeping me alive? To torment me? Well, he was doing a good job of messing with my head. Just lecturing me like this was getting on my nerves. Slade wasn't finished talking.

"You can't lead three separate lives."

_Three separate lives?_

"What do you mean?"

"Robin," he held up a finger, "your civilian identity and that of Red X."

He held up three fingers. Why did he mention my civilian identity? That had nothing to do with this.

"Oh, and I forgot to mention a fourth," Slade said, in a tone that suggested that he had not forgotten at all, "the identity you'll eventually assume once you give up the title of 'Robin.'"

The thought hadn't even crossed my mind. But even if Slade wanted to keep the lie going eventually the Titans would realize what was going on. They would come to help me. But what on earth did Slade mean by that? I mean, I knew that if I did continue being a superhero I would have to leave the Robin identity behind, but…

"I'm not going to hang up the cape," I said. "And I'll always be Robin to you."

Sure, the name wasn't bound to strike fear into the hearts of my enemies, but it was name that had a reputation behind it.

"Robin…Red X…who are you really?"

He seemed to be talking to himself now. As he mused I suddenly became aware of what he was insinuating. Was he going to demand that I tell him my secret identity? Even if he just took off my mask it would only be too easy for him to guess who I was. However, he merely seemed to be musing.

"But, I suppose that's up to you to decide."

"Decide what?"

"Who you really are."

To my great surprise he didn't press the matter any further. I guess my secret identity had nothing to do with his plans. Not that I wasn't complaining or anything. I was glad that he wasn't going to press me to talk about my identity. Still, this was odd. I've never had a villain talk to me like this before.

"Why are you doing this?"

"I believe I'm doing you a favor," Slade said. "You obviously don't want your friends to know you're Red X…"

No, I didn't want them to know. That much was true. But how far would I be willing to go to keep it a secret from them? If Starfire knew that I was Red X, then would she tell the others? Or would she keep the lie going? She was probably torn between keeping the secret and telling the team. I hoped that she would tell them. Although I was sure that I could escape from this there was always the possibility that I wouldn't be able to. I needed them to help me now.

"No, you're not doing me any favors. I don't want any favors from you."

"Oh, I understand that, of course. I'd just hate to see what the press would say about you, the Boy Wonder, being Red X...or even what Batman would say."

Why did he keep bringing up Batman? I kept my mouth shut. Talking about Bruce was like touching an exposed nerve: it hurt a lot. I could see what Slade was trying to do, and I wasn't going to let it get to me…

"What do you want?" I asked again.

"I'm intrigued by this persona you've created for yourself. But I'm not obliged to tell you my plans. You haven't earned the right to hear them anyway."

So that was it, then? Nothing more? Was he just going to keep me here as part of his mysterious plan to do God knows what? At least other villains loved to monologue. I only assumed that Slade would do the same when he gloated over a captive. In a way he was, but he made sure that he didn't reveal his true intentions to me, which was so irritating.

"However, I do expect you to follow my orders. That much I can tell you."

"You can't make me," I said haughtily.

"Who says I'm going to make you?"

That statement took me aback. Slade didn't seriously expect me to believe all of his lies, did he?

Did he?

I let out a slow breath. Goading my captor wasn't going to help me in the slightest. Yeah, I wanted to annoy him, but right now I couldn't afford to do that anymore. Once I got out of these ropes I would discover Slade's real plan and then get the hell out of here.

"Let. Me. Go."

"Be patient. If you want your hands untied then you will ask nicely. It's all up to you how you want to be treated here."

I took a deep breath. It wouldn't be that hard to ask nicely, would it?

 _It only hurts my pride,_ I thought wryly.

Still, I said nothing. I didn't want to say it. It suddenly struck me that Slade was one of those villains who was sane. He hadn't yet beaten me up too badly. Only when I spat in his face did he do anything to hurt me. The hero side of me said to give him a chance, but then Bruce's training kicked in. Slade could be like Ra's al Ghul. Be perfectly nice and sane until he suddenly got mad. Those were the worst kind of villains. Slade shrugged.

"I'll leave you here for another few hours then," Slade said, "I don't have time to wait on you."

A sudden thought occurred to me. It would be stupid of me to let an opportunity like that to fly by. If I was going to escape then I needed to have my hands free.

"Wait," I said.

Slade stopped walking and turned around. I knew what he was waiting for: for me to ask to be let go. It was his way of asserting his superiority over me. For now, though, I would have to let him flaunt it.

"Could you…please…let me go?" When Slade said nothing I hastily added. "Sir."

I hated saying those words so much. He didn't deserve an ounce of my respect. But whether I liked it or not someone had to untie me. True to his word, Slade bent down and began to cut through the ropes.

I sprang to my feet and threw a fist to Slade's face.

Slade caught my fist and rammed a fist into my stomach. It knocked most of the wind out of me. He watched me fall to the floor. I felt so weak from fighting the Sladebots. I was in no physical condition to fight anyone. I knew it and Slade knew it.

Still, I struggled to push myself to my knees. I wasn't going to take any of this lying down. Slade laughed quietly, as though amused by my stubbornness. However, nothing about this situation was amusing.

"Quite impressive," he said. "But if I were you, I'd save my strength for another fight."

He was right: I couldn't fight him now. As I stood up again I looked at him. No matter how much I wanted to stay just to figure out what his plan was, I knew that I needed to leave. If me being here helped him advance his plans, then I needed to do everything possible to thwart them.

I bolted.

Before I had even gone two steps I felt Slade yank me back by the collar of my costume. He pulled the fabric so tightly that I began to choke. I tried to jerk away again, but this time he grabbed the back of my neck. As I fumbled for air I didn't move again. I felt as though any move I made would cause me to pass out.

"I don't think you're leaving."

Panic kicked in. Writhing like a bundle of live wires, I tried to twist out of his grip again. For once I didn't care about figuring out what his plans were. Every single atom in my body screamed at me to get out of here. As the situation finally crashed down over me claustrophobia overwhelmed me. As I spun around to punch his face he grabbed my shoulders and kneed me hard in the gut. The air whoosed out of my lungs. I shuddered quietly for a few seconds, my face screwing up in pain as I gasped for air. It was then, perhaps, when all hope of beating him evaporated. Here I was: tired, beaten and irritated that I had allowed myself to be manipulated like this.

"If you're going to fight me, Robin, then you better pick your fights. You can't afford to fight every single time we meet."

I said nothing. There was nothing I could say to counter that. Why was he even bothering to lecture me? It was probably just another one of his ways to belittle me. Hmp.

"Do you understand me?"

"Yes," I hissed through clenched teeth.

"Yes, what?"

There was nothing more I wanted to do than spit in his face again. Sure, I would probably be slapped again, but for one glorious moment I was willing to accept that just to piss him off. Getting hurt would get me nowhere, though. Conserving energy to escape was more important.

"Yes, Sir."

Somehow I sensed that that wasn't quite the response he wanted, but it seemed good enough. Whatever he wanted me to do I wouldn't do it with enthusiasm, that is if I did it at all.

"You want to get those wounds looked at?" he asked, gesturing towards the gash on my head.

"No, I'm fine. Leave me alone."

If there was anything worse than being a captive, then it probably was accepting help from the captor. One thing could lead to another…accepting unnecessary help would bring about unnecessary interaction with Slade. As one of Jump City's heroes I despised crime and all who participated in it. Slade represented the worst of it, and no matter what I would make sure that he was brought down.

"It isn't an option," he said. "Wintergreen will look at them before you go to bed. Go now."

What—I couldn't believe that he was telling me to go to bed like a little kid. I turned my head to see who he was pointing at. An older man stood at the far end of the room. My head cocked slightly to the side in curiosity. This man didn't look like he worked for a super villain. Why would he be here…?

Slade gave me a push. "I told you to go."

Glowering, I started moving towards the other end of the room. So, Slade didn't work alone. He had this henchman that I knew nothing about.

What did Slade really want with me? My shoulders slumped dejectedly. Weariness ached every inch of me. Sleep would be nice…

As I walked towards Wintergreen Slade left the room. Apparently I wasn't that important if Slade left me a baby-sitter. While he deigned to spare the time to talk down to me I was probably nothing more than a tool to advance his plans, whatever they were. The thought of being nothing but a tool pissed me off. I was a person, a human being who had rights. Already I could tell that Slade didn't seem to understand that other people had feelings too. Or maybe he did, but he just didn't care.

"Sit down," Wintergreen said. "This will only take a minute."

I didn't sit down. Wintergreen worked for Slade. No matter how nice he appeared to be that still made him my enemy. As he opened a small bottle of disinfectant I made my move. I threw my fist right at his face, intending to knock him out so that I could make my escape. To my surprise Wintergreen caught my arm in a grip nearly as strong as Slade's. My arm shook as I tried to wrench it out of his grip.

"I'm just as capable of taking you down as Slade," Wintergreen said. "I may be old, my young friend, but I'm not an invalid. Sit down, please."

Grimacing, I let my arm fall back to my side as I sat down in the chair Wintergreen offered me. That was dumb of me. Assessing Wintergreen's strengths and weaknesses was something I should have done instead. I needed to be more aware of my surroundings.

"Why does Slade want me here?" I demanded.

Wintergreen raised an eyebrow. "It's not my place to tell you that."

I shifted uneasily on my chair. I allowed Wintergreen to dab disinfectant on my wound. It stung a little, but it wasn't anything to cry over. And even if it was I wouldn't give Slade the satisfaction of knowing that he hurt me.

Once Wintergreen was done he gestured for me to follow him. The Haunt—or whatever Slade's hideout was called—was massive. A myriad of hallways and secret passages meant to befuddle any newcomer. They certainly baffled me. Soon I lost track of where I was, and before I knew it we had arrive at our destination.

He pushed open a door and motioned for me to step inside. For a split second I hesitated. This was most likely a little cell. Once inside I'd be locked in. I didn't want to intentionally trap myself. Noticing my hesitation, Wintergreen motioned to me again.

"Step inside or I'll call Slade."

That got me going. I felt as though I were stepping into a guillotine. It was a small, but not an uncomfortable, room. There wasn't much in there, just a bed, a nightstand and drawers. Truth be told, it was more than I expected from Slade. I didn't expect him to have the decency to treat his prisoners like human beings.

"There are spare clothes in the drawers," he said.

"What?" I shot him a curious glance. "How…how long am I supposed to be staying here?"

Although I wasn't prone to freaking out, something about all of this sent chills down my back. Slade had pre-planned all of this. He had planned to kidnap me, made the arrangements for everything necessary to keep me here, and then entrapped me.

And I let him do it.

"How should I know?" Wintergreen replied. "Go to bed. I'll wake you up in the morning."

"But—"

No one was answering my questions. Jeez, didn't I have the right to know why I was being kept here? Wintergreen obviously knew more than he let on. Some way or another I was going to get answers. The butler cut me off.

"Go to bed," Wintergreen repeated, shutting the door.

My retort died once I heard him lock the door. God, that was annoying. While I couldn't be completely mad at Wintergreen I still had every right to be. The guy was working for Slade, after all. What kind of man would willingly do that?

As soon as the door shut I began to search the room for a possible escape route. I felt all along the walls for something…anything…that would help me. My fingers felt for any unusual bumps that could be hidden cameras or microphones enclosed within the walls. No matter how welcome Slade would try to make me feel here, I knew that I would be watched like a serial killer in prison.

I tried moving the furniture. If worst came to worst I could barricade myself in here to buy myself some time. However, everything seemed to be bolted to the floor. I checked everywhere I could for anything that could help me escape or to defend myself. But the air vent in the ceiling was too small for me to crawl through. The door locked automatically. I wouldn't be able to pick the lock because there wasn't one.

The lights suddenly switched off. My heart hammering, I stumbled in the sudden darkness until my shin hit the frame of the bed. I swore under my breath as I hopped on one foot. I fell on the floor and grabbed my throbbing leg, trying to ease the pain by massaging it. The door opened just a crack. Startled, I looked up and saw Slade's figure. I stopped moving, my whole body tensing for a fight. Truthfully, I felt a little silly. There I was, sprawled on the floor looking like a complete moron.

I couldn't see Slade's face, but I inferred enough from his body language that he wasn't in a happy mood. The room was small enough to make me feel trapped should someone come in. There was nowhere to run or hide should I ever get it into my head to spring a trap. For a few seconds we just stared at one another in uncomfortable silence.

"Go. To. Bed."

And with those words he slammed the door shut, leaving me in complete darkness again.

For some reason, this sobered me. All thought of trying to find an escape route fled from my mind. I needed to rest. I guess there wasn't anything left for me to do except go to bed. I felt my way to the bed and crawled under the covers. I didn't even bothering changing into pajamas. I didn't even take off my mask. Whatever Slade thought this stay wasn't going to be indefinite.

 _If I can't get out then my friends will help me,_ I thought. _They'll find me. Then we'll kick Slade's butt together._

Minutes ticked by. Slowly, it began to dawn on me that perhaps I couldn't do this by myself. The Titans were supposed to help me bring down Slade. I never intended to fight him alone. Or did I? Nothing I've done in the past twenty-four hours suggested that I wanted or needed help from my friends. I guess it's no surprise that Slade assumed that I pushed them away on purpose.

For the longest time I thought that I wouldn't be able to sleep. The darkness seemed absolute. I couldn't even hear the gears in this room; I was completely locked away from the world. If I cried out for help, would anyone hear me?

Eventually my heavy eyelids closed as my weariness overwhelmed me, my sleepy mind wondering what tomorrow would bring.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter update will be on Monday. Read and review!


	4. Patience

 

**-SW-**

Despite everything going on with Robin, I still had my appointments to keep. Although intent on teaching him, I couldn't afford to let anyone else know about this. Not only would it attract unwanted attention from the cape community, but it would also raise questions in the criminal underground.

Of course, there was little danger of other villains finding out about this. Most in Jump City were smart enough to leave me alone. But Robin made himself a lot of enemies, both in Gotham and Jump City.

I checked on the cameras I placed in Titans Tower. Although early in the morning, the Titans were up and about. It was obvious that they knew Robin was missing now. They gathered in the common room, glancing nervously at one another.

"Does anyone know where Robin is?" Cyborg asked.

"He's not answering his communicator," Beast Boy said. "What should we do? This is weird, even for him."

The one named Raven nodded. Starfire, however, said nothing. She simply stood there, perhaps internally agonizing over whether or not she should tell them the truth.

The question was: if Starfire knew that Robin was Red X, then what was she going to do? Telling the others would cause them to immediately distrust him, despite the fact that they would keep looking for him anyway. I wanted her to tell them that he was Red X. I wanted to sow the seeds of distrust between them. After watching the Titans defeat the HIVE kids I sent after them I knew that they could function without Robin. Even so, without their fearless leader they were less efficient.

Hmm. I would have to move quickly to make sure that they wouldn't find him. Or better yet: I should arrange to have Robin's files destroyed. If they wanted to find me, then they would have to start from scratch. Robin had a pretty thorough understanding of Jump City's criminal underground. Without that information the Titans wouldn't even know where to begin. I turned off the cameras.

"I know you're a great tactician," Wintergreen said, "but don't get ahead of yourself. Sometimes you rush into things."

"When have I ever done that?"

"When you saved me in Vietnam…that was reckless. If it hadn't been for the serum you would have been killed."

Ah yes, I remembered that all too well. But if I hadn't taken that risk then Will would have died. Yeah, I might have been a bit reckless, but I had a debt to pay.

"What are you trying to say?"

"Sometimes you let your emotions get in the way of your common sense. That boy…he's not Grant. No matter what you say, no matter what you make him believe, he's not going to be the same." Wintergreen looked away. "That's all I wanted to say before this…may get out of hand."

It was my time to be silent. Neither of us had discussed Grant since the funeral. I didn't want to, and Wintergreen had enough sense not to ask me about it. With Adeline gone after the divorce, I mourned quietly. To have him bring up the subject so bluntly, and at such an inappropriate time…

"I'm perfectly aware of who he is," I replied testily, "and I'm perfectly aware that my son is dead."

"Eventually he's going to have to understand what you're trying to do. It won't make sense to him unless you tell him that Grant is dead."

"Whoever said that this is about Grant?" I snapped. "It's not about him. And what exactly do you think I'm trying to do?"

"Nothing." His tone coolly suggested that it wasn't nothing. Wintergreen merely looked at me. "You may go about this apprenticeship however you wish. I won't stop you."

Well, if he wasn't going to do anything to stop me, then I suppose I would just let the matter drop. However, I had the feeling that this wouldn't be the end of this conversation. I looked away from him and tried to cool off. Wintergreen's sudden comparison of Robin and Grant made me feel uneasy.

At around ten I decided that I would see him. Although highly interested in his potential I didn't want him to know just yet. Sure, I left him a few hints, but I was going to let him figure it out on his own. Even on my part this was a dangerous game we played.

"Send him in here in ten minutes," I told Wintergreen.

As I waited I worked. Those chips I had Robin fetch for me wouldn't go to waste. Right now I was in the process of planning one of my biggest heists yet. While I occasionally took on a contract I didn't have one right now. Training Robin wasn't going to bring me anything either until I trusted him enough to rob banks. So, naturally, I would go on with my other plans while simultaneously training him. Once the chips were configured to be compatible with my technology, then I would be able to go forward with my plan.

Ideally, Robin would help me with the heist, but I have to be realistic. Convincing him to trust me was going to be hard enough. Without any blackmail there was no guarantee that he would do whatever I would order him to do. I also planned to steal something from Wayne Enterprises' Jump City branch, which I was sure wouldn't go well with him.

 _Grant,_ I thought. _Will is wrong. I haven't even thought about Grant since he died. What he was insinuating…that I want to train someone like Grant…that's not what this is about._

I heard Robin come into the main room. Robin walked slowly towards me as though walking up to the gallows. He had chosen to stay in his Red X costume, though without the mask. I didn't mind. In fact, if all went well I might even let him keep that persona, if he so desired. I continued to work for a few minutes, secretly testing his patience as I ignored him. I could almost feel the dread building up inside him. As a criminal mastermind it is imperative to understand how to intimidate people. Even if his face betrayed nothing I could tell that he was scared.

Yet I could almost feel his eyes watching me closely. Even now, as a prisoner, he was still trying to figure me out. Maybe he wouldn't try to leave until he discovered everything about my plans. It made me a bit uncomfortable, as well as annoyed me a bit. What a stubborn kid. Despite the fact that I could control him, there was always the slight possibility that he could outsmart me or beat me in a fair fight.

Huh. Funny, how those were two of the reasons why I picked him in the first place.

He stood still, watching me work. Robin couldn't possibly piece together my plans just from the stuff on my desk, but I could never be too careful. After five minutes I decided to talk to him. I pushed my plans well out of his sight.

"Good morning, Robin," I said, turning. "Sleep well?"

He said nothing. Quiet little kid, wasn't he? However, silence wasn't an answer. I needed to confirm that he heard me. His silence irritated me.

"Robin, I asked you a question."

"I'm fine."

Going for the laconic route, then. He was probably using every ounce of self-control to not blow up at me. I knew he had a lot of questions. He was a clever boy who would do everything in his power to discover the reason behind his kidnapping. I would let him figure it out on his own.

He looked away from me. That attitude wasn't going to do him any good. Last night's talk seemed to get the message through to him that he wouldn't be able to beat me in a fight (at least not yet).

"What are you—" he stopped himself. It was as if he knew that he wouldn't get an answer from me. Good. He was learning. He then spoke in a calm tone. "How long are you planning on keeping me here?"

"As long as I need to."

I had no need to indulgence him with detailed answers. I could have shut him up in his room all day just to drive him nuts, but perhaps that wouldn't be necessary just yet. There are several different ways to mentally break a person, and I didn't want to have to resort to the more extreme measures. Breaking a person too quickly, especially someone as young as Robin, could have drastic side-effects. For me it would be difficult to draw a fine line between outright hurting him and making sure he followed my orders. Even though I'm not proud of it, I knew that I could easily hurt him if I got mad.

He struggled to find a retort. Apparently he couldn't find one.

"How did you know it was me?"

Ah, very good. It seemed to take a chunk out of Robin's pride to ask. But learning to admit one's mistakes was the first step to becoming better. Still, I knew that he would never let go of the idea that he was morally superior to me. Time to deconstruct that.

"First off, you were taking my stash of Xinothium." My voice became hard. "Did you really believe that I wouldn't notice? Or that Chang wouldn't tell me that you bullied the Xinothium off of him?"

He said nothing to that. He knew that I was right. I leaned back in my chair and studied him. "Do you regret becoming Red X?"

"Only in the fact that I failed to achieve my objective."

"Interesting."

I didn't elaborate. How interesting indeed…that Robin only found failure in the fact that he failed to trick me. Either that or he wanted to avoid talking about his friends' trust in him. However, the goal of this conversation—and the ones that would inevitably follow—would be to get him to doubt his trust in his friends, as well as to doubt himself.

"I suppose you thought that the Titans would forgive you once you captured me."

"Why do you care?" he snapped. "What the Titans think is none of your business."

 _It is my business,_ I thought, _when your team is actively trying to put me in jail._

Ever since I arrived in this city it has been my top priority to put the Titans out of commission. Young they may be, but their unpredictability could catch me off guard. Two of them—Robin and that Beast Boy—had been trained by some of the best heroes in the business. But just because Robin wasn't with the Titans didn't mean that he wasn't a threat. Right now he was imprisoned, cornered. And cornered men do dangerous things.

"As I said before: trust is important, Robin. You broke the little trust I put in you."

Like any other kid, he hated to be lectured. From past experience I knew that lectures were sometimes the only way to pound something in a kid's head. But perhaps lectures weren't the way to go right now. Sometimes, especially with hotheaded kids like Grant, the best way to manipulate them was to make them believe that they came up with the desired idea in the first place. Inception, if you would like to call it that.  
"If you were to repeat the past, what would you have done differently?"

He looked up at me, as though hardly believing me. Robin thought about his answer. I could tell when he tried to answer something thoughtfully.

"I would have told my friends what I was doing. But that doesn't matter, because we're still going to take you to jail."

"Do you really think so?" I stood up. "What possessed you to try to trick me?"

Chuckling softly, I shook my head when he didn't answer.

"You've a darker side to you, Robin," I said. "You're just too afraid to embrace it."

Instantly, I sidestepped away from his incoming fist.

Even though it was stupid of him to fights like this in his condition, I drew out the fight for a bit. I wanted to give him a fighting chance, even though it was so obvious who was going to win. I did it partly so that he would understand who was in charge and partly because it would wear him out. Once he got tired then he would be easier to manage.

His movements were a tad bit off, but still admirable.

Now that I was actually fighting him I realized just how small he was. There was no way in hell he would be able to beat me even if he wanted to. But, I wasn't in the mood for a fight this morning. Training would be for another day, when he was in a less surly mood.

I wrestled him into a tight headlock, tightening my hold until he could barely breathe. Instead of flailing he elbowed me hard in the ribs, trying to make me let go. From previous experience I knew that it was hard to get out of a headlock. The fact of the matter was: Robin simply didn't have the brute strength to make me let go, but still, he kept trying to hurt me.

He might think that I'm a sadist, but I'm not. I knew that I was causing him a lot of pain, but that was inconsequential to the end result of this whole apprenticeship. He would become a better fighter out of all of this.

I waited so very patiently for him to stop moving. For a brief moment I thought that I had knocked him out, but then I heard him breathing heavily.

"Are you done?"

Slowly, painfully, he nodded. I let him go. He stumbled away, rubbing his neck.

"That's twice now you've started a fight," I said.

"What? You keeping count now?"

"You're an irritating little brat. No wonder Batman kicked you out."

I chuckled at my own joke, but Robin didn't seem to find that amusing. He scowled at me again, but I could tell that the comment struck something deeper within him. In that moment I realized just how insecure he felt. Even though he had a tough-guy attitude I could sense his insecurities already. Whenever I mentioned Batman he seemed to tense up; even his words became harsh. He refused to talk about Batman when he could help it. Had there been a falling out between them?

_I'll investigate that later._

"Batman is also none of your business," Robin snapped. "If you haven't noticed: we don't work together anymore."

"You mean you don't work for him anymore."

Robin began to splutter before pulling himself together to form a coherent answer. "I never worked for him. I worked with him."

"You will never be equal with him, just as you will never be equal with me."

I knew who he was. I know who the Batman was. But I decided that I wasn't going to press him about his secret identity. He already disliked me. If I mentioned that I knew who he was that might push him over the edge. I would let him believe that he could keep his identity a secret from me. I'd let him keep that secret.

When he decided to reveal his identity to me then I knew that I could trust him a little more. But judging from our current conversation, I could tell that it was going to take a while. I crossed my arms over my chest.

"From a moral standpoint I'm far superior to you," he snarled.

"Considering Red X, I beg to differ."

That was always something I could come back to: Red X. So long as that mistake hung over his head I could deconstruct any argument about moral superiority he threw at me. His youth made him arrogant, but once he understood that the world wasn't so black-and-white then he would begin to question the morals Batman drilled into him. He seemed to find no retort for that.

"If you want to find out what I'm doing, you're going to have to do better than that."

He glared at me. However, I was being completely honest. If he wanted to figure out my true intentions then he was going to have to figure out the clues I left behind for him. Robin was smart enough to figure it out. In a way, his testing was still in progress.

"Aren't you going to monologue?" he asked sarcastically. "Gloat about your victory?"

"I have more important things to do than banter with you," I said. "Get out. You're a waste of my time."

Slightly taken aback, Robin shot me a sidelong glare. While this conversation was a pleasant distraction I wouldn't be able to work with this kid now. It really did frustrate me—not being able to start training him right away—but I heeded Wintergreen's advice. He would have to understand eventually—perhaps in a few years—but he didn't need to understand now.

"What happens if I don't?"

"You're not going to escape," I said quietly. "And I am also not an idiot. Unless you prove yourself to be a trustworthy individual, you will not be privy to my plans. So, unless you've had a sudden change of heart, I suggest that you go back to your room before you hurt yourself."

Although I said that he was here to help disassemble the Titans from the inside, I hadn't let go of the offer to work with me. My words were clear enough: if Robin wanted to know what I was up to, then he would have to convince me to trust him. The eyeholes of his mask widened in slight surprise, but the surprise on his face was soon replaced with disdain.

"Don't eat your words, Slade. Once I get out you're going down."

"A good tactician never tells his enemy his intentions. Now get out."

Really, it was much too easy to push his buttons. His hands flexed into fists, but he showed a bit more self-control this time around. But that wasn't a lecture. Even that flying rodent surely taught him how to behave himself.

I put a hand on his shoulder and tried to guide him away when he didn't move. Honestly, I wanted him to trust me. He twisted out of my grip and glared at me. Although he didn't say it, I could practically read his thoughts from the expression on his face: _Don't touch me._

I knew it wasn't over. He was a work-in-progress. He walked away, also scowling at the Sladebots that walked alongside him, making sure that he wouldn't run away. Wintergreen also watched him walk away.

"He doesn't seem too pleased."

"Let him sulk."

I was used to dealing with unruly kids. Grant had been like that when he was Robin's age. Well, I probably used a bit more force than I had with my own son, but Robin needed to have some sense pounded into him. At least when Grant was alive he had respected me. Joey of course never caused any trouble…

"I wonder how long your patience will last," Wintergreen said quietly. "You do have a temper, Slade."

"It hasn't even been twenty-four hours," I snapped. "Give me a break."

Even I wasn't so optimistic. The manipulation process would take a while. While we began today with a rocky start that didn't mean that this apprenticeship would end in disaster.

"I also don't know if belittling him or locking him up to drive him crazy is the best way to go," he replied. "From what you've told me of his past it seems like he doesn't need any more of that."

"He's annoyingly arrogant. He needs to be put in his place. Just because he's gone through a lot of crap doesn't excuse him."

"You were once like that too, Slade, when you were his age."

It's easy for me to forget that I was sixteen when I joined the military. Looking back on it—and watching Robin, who was sixteen now, act—finally seemed to put things in perspective for me. I was imposing the same standards on him that I put on myself. A sixteen-year-old, while old enough to understand the world without sugarcoating, could still be incredibly immature.

"I wasn't cocky at sixteen."

"I'm sure Adeline would have something to say about that."

That irked me.

"We'll talk about this later, Will. I have work to do."

For the rest of the day Wintergreen said nothing more about the subject. His advice was good, but it was getting to the point of lecturing. That wasn't his place. His place was to help me, not to lecture me like I was lecturing Robin.

I continued to work in solitude.

I expected Robin to concoct an escape plan. I'd be disappointed if he didn't try. Of course, I had the whole place rigged so that I would be able to catch him easily. But the more he tried and failed the more he would realize that his place was with me. He'd eventually realize that he would have no choice but to get me to trust him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next update will be on Wednesday!


	5. Anywhere But Here

**-DG-**

Hmp. Whatever Slade said, he was gloating in his own way.

He was being a jerk and took every chance to belittle me, and I hated it. I hated him. The way he dismissed me—as if I were a misbehaving child—irritated me. He said that I wasn't worth his time—essentially that I was a waste of space. That I wasn't even a threat.

I'd beg to differ.

 _Why did he want to talk to me, though?_ I thought. _Does it make him feel better about himself to talk down to me? Yeah, probably._

I wasn't a waste of space. He spent so much time trying to trap me that I couldn't possibly believe that he thought I wasn't a threat. Sure, maybe it was ego-centric for me to think like that, but I wanted to understand what he wanted of me. Once I understood that then I could go about destroying his agenda.

Instead of trying to puzzle him out, I began to devise an escape plan. I realized that I couldn't be rash. I sat on the bed and stared at the blank wall, fantasizing about blowing it up with my non-existent explosive discs. There were plenty of ways I could break out of here if I had my utility belt.

Eventually, though, my thoughts wandered over to other things. The one part of Slade's lecture this morning that still bugged me was the fact that he was still set on the idea of me working for him. Even after trying to attack him and insulting him he hadn't let that idea go.

 _If that's the only way I can get out of here,_ I thought, _then maybe it would be good to play along with Slade's game._

But why, though?

He wanted me to convince him to trust me, but it was clear that neither of us trusted each other. It should be the other way around. Even though I didn't know his plans yet, I knew that he was going to hurt people. He may be one of the more clever villains out there, but I wasn't going to give him the respect that he wanted. He didn't deserve it. However, he had me trapped. Maybe the best thing to do would be to make him lower his guard by agreeing to…

No. There was always another way.

Whatever he wanted me to do, it would help advance his agenda. But…somehow…I didn't want to talk to my friends. Slade was right: they wouldn't trust me anymore. The fact that I was completely alone in this didn't make me feel any better.

I just wanted to be anywhere but here.

As the hours passed in silence I began to see how prisoners in solitary confinement could go crazy. Boredom can easily drive a person to madness. I tapped my fingers against my knees and tried to think of a way out of here. My head rested against the cool wall as I gazed up at the ceiling. It was cold in here. With nothing else to do, I found myself dozing off, my mind wandering back into the past.

_The raging wildfire seared a path towards the city. I skidded to a halt and looked up towards the hill where the monster originated. An old man dressed in red robes stood there, a mad smile spread across his face. He began to speak to Thunder and Lightning, who were standing behind him. They disappeared in a bolt of light._

_Abandoning my team, I raced off after the old man. Although it was clear that Thunder and Lightning started this mess I sensed that someone was pulling the strings. Once Gizmo let slip that Slade had hired them to pick us off, I knew that Slade must have been the one to release Plasmus. Of course, I couldn't be sure that this was Slade, but I was going to find out if it was._

_As the old man turned around to look over the destruction I leapt into the air and kicked the staff away from him. The staff spun out of his hand and landed a few feet away from us. He looked up interestedly as I approached him, a smile spreading across his face. To my great surprise he held out his hand, the staff swinging back to him as if he were a magnet._

_"Robin. We meet at last."_

_Fear prickled me. Despite the scorching heat around me, cold sweat ran down my neck._

_"Who are you?"_

_The old man said nothing, but instead yelled as he rushed towards me. He came at me so quickly that I didn't have time to take out my bo-staff. I ducked and dodged his frequent jabs with the staff until I managed to land a punch in his gut. Instantly we skidded away from each other, both of us quietly judging the other's fighting prowess._

_We circled around each other warily, ignoring the burning forest around us. Some part of my mind kept nagging me to help the others put out the fire, but there was something about this man that gave me the shivers._

_"Who am I?" he asked pleasantly. "Why, that's of no importance."_

_I took out my bo-staff. The fire sizzled and burned the forest around us as we fought. For an old man he sure knew how to pack a wallop. I couldn't shake off the feeling that he was holding back. If the Titans were here to help me…_

_An uppercut to the face sent me crashing back into the tree behind me._

_His hand closed around my throat. The combination of stress on my neck and the ever-growing smoke made it difficult to breathe. I had enough breath to growl angrily at him as I tried to free myself. The old man smirked._

_"Robin. Is that the best you can do?"_

_Lightning flashed across the sky. My legs buckled underneath me as I crumpled to the ground, throwing my arms up over my face. A blast of heat hit me, nearly burning me as I took refuge underneath my cape. What happened?_

_As the smoke cleared away I lowered my arm. The right side of the old man's face fell away. A mask. He narrowed his single eye at me as I gasped softly in astonishment. He disappeared in a puff of smoke. The surrounding fire cast uneven, flickering light on the medallion he left behind. I picked up the medallion, my eyes narrowing in dislike as I gazed at the letter "S" on the medallion. As the rain washed over me I remembered who Gizmo mentioned hired the HIVE._

_"Slade," I said under my breath._

_Slade, their mysterious employer. Slade, the unseen threat to the city. He was the only villain I couldn't discover anything about. What if Slade released Cinderblock? If so, then he must have sent the HIVE kids after us for revenge. Once we defeated them he must have gone out of his way to extract more revenge by going after the city. Why couldn't I figure it out sooner? Has he been leaving clues for me to follow? And if so, then why?_

_When I returned to the others I didn't say anything about Slade. I didn't want to spoil the enthusiasm over their victory over the fire monster._

_Colors and sounds melted together as my dreams became less coherent. If I had to recall them now, I can only say that there were snatches of memories. Like a daydream one has in the middle of class. My thoughts tumbled over one another, but eventually they began to focus on one thing:_

_Red X._

_The transformation from Robin to Red X took only a few weeks. The early designs for the suit are still in my desk drawer somewhere. I wanted to create someone new, someone different. A ruthless thief who didn't let anyone get in his way._

_When I put on that mask for the first time I felt…different._

_I couldn't tell my friends because if they knew it was me, then they would have held back. But I guess that, in the end, it didn't matter, because Slade found out anyway._

_It seemed like such a good idea at the time. Such…a…good…idea._

Sudden footsteps woke me from my doze.

Hurriedly, I rubbed my sleepy eyes and sat up straighter. At once I felt relieved that something was finally happening and dread that it would be Slade coming to beat me up. I heard whoever was beyond the door slide the key into the lock. My body tensed as the door opened.

Oh. Just a Sladebot.

What was it doing here? Was it here just to check up on me? Give me food? What? Well, it wouldn't give me answers. And I didn't intend to stay long to find out what it wanted.

Moving slowly so that I wouldn't cause it alarm, I scooted off of the bed. After a few seconds I decided that I couldn't wait any longer. I slipped through the door, held my fists together and bashed its neck. Without a bo-staff my fists hurt from punching the metal, but that didn't matter. The robot crumpled underneath me in a heap. Without waiting to see if I knocked it out I sprinted towards the exit.

If I had my belt, then I could teleport out of here. At the very least I could avoid the security cameras. Pressing myself against the wall, I glanced up at the cameras. If I screwed this up then it was possible that I might never have the chance to escape again. It was clear to me that Slade was a control freak. If he caught me once, then he could up the security in this place. I didn't want that.

Making as little noise as possible, I ducked underneath the cameras as the lens swiveled in the opposite direction. Frankly, I felt a little paranoid: I didn't know how tight security was around here. What if there were sensors I couldn't detect? What if Slade already knew that I was out? I dismissed the thought.

I walked quickly into the main room. Slade wasn't there. I looked up at the giant television screens. They weren't on. I wondered vaguely what on earth he used them for. I know that Beast Boy would probably use them to play Rock Band with people. However, I didn't waste any time dwelling on that. I needed to get out of here.

A part of me wanted to discover what Slade was up to first, but my instincts told me that I had to go back to Titans Tower first. The best way to take down Slade would be to beat him with my team behind me. I looked up and saw the wretched gears turning above me.

The gears were the only things in this place that didn't sleep. My instincts told me not to linger in this room. I strode past the tall television screens and tried one of the doors. To my relief the one I tried was unlocked.

Strange machines hummed all around me as I walked in. Unlike Cyborg, I'm not a technowhiz. I had no idea what any of these machines were supposed to do. However, I knew enough to recognize one of them. I stepped closer to it. No…it couldn't be…Slade wouldn't be crazy enough to build one of these…

_Or maybe he would be._

Hesitantly, I touched the smooth metal surface. I wouldn't know for sure until I looked at the core, but still…there was no doubt in my mind that I knew what this was...

Oh no. He's crazy, I thought, my heart suddenly jumping into my throat, He built a Chronoton Detonator.

The lights shut off suddenly. At once the doors around me began to lock automatically. The computer screen lit up and words scrolled lazily across one of the computer screens.

_Nice try, Robin. Don't try anything like that again._

Part of me wasn't paying attention. My mind was too focused on the Chronoton Detonator.A Chronoton Detonator. God help us all, Slade built a Chronoton Detonator large enough to freeze the whole city. Was that what he was up to? But no, those chips I stole didn't have anything to do with Chronoton Detonators.

 _Everything's rigged,_ I thought suddenly. _Did Slade know that I would escape here? Why didn't he send anyone after me sooner? What's going on?_

Sudden terror washed over me. If I found a way to escape, how would I know if I actually found a way or if Slade set it all up? What if Slade didn't actually fight me in the woods when he manipulated Thunder and Lightning? What if he was a robot? How could I be sure of anything anymore?

It's just another way he's messing with me. Footsteps pounded outside of the door. To my surprise, Wintergreen showed up with two other Sladebots. I half-expected Slade to show up himself, but yet again he left me a baby-sitter. Wintergreen didn't look surprised or irritated. He just sighed and gestured for me to follow him.

"Normally, this isn't how I would like guests to be treated," he said. He held up a hand once he saw that my hands had curled into fists. "Stand down, young man."

"I'm not your guest," I spat. "I'm your prisoner."

One look at the Sladebots shut me up. Fighting my way out of this wasn't a good idea. Wintergreen said nothing to me. As we walked back I made it a point to try to memorize the way back.

In the nearly twenty-four or so hours I've been here, I realized that I saw more of the butler than of Slade. In retrospect, the butler was kind to me. He didn't purposefully hurt me like Slade did, even when I was disrespectful. That was one good thing I had, and possibly the closest thing I had for a friend.

"So where's Slade?" I asked.

Nothing.

"Did he want me to escape like that?" I waited for an answer, but Wintergreen didn't give me one. "I know he expected me to do that."

Still nothing. I didn't want to walk in silence, so I offered more conversation.

"Why do you work for him?" I asked. "He's not keeping you prisoner here too, is he?"

The butler just shook his head. The silence between us was beginning to unnerve me. Unless I managed to escape, the only source of information was either Wintergreen or Slade. Right now Wintergreen was my best chance. But it seemed as though the butler was just as adamant about keeping me in the dark.

Once we got back to my room I tried yet again to elicit some sort of response from him. I spun on my heel and faced him. It wasn't nearly as intimidating as facing Slade. I rose up to my fullest height (which, I guess isn't very high) and glared.

"Tell Slade that he can go to hell."

Normally, I wouldn't say things like that, but already I was growing tired of being treated like this. Yeah, I guess that I could be grateful that Slade hadn't tortured me, but being locked up all day didn't improve my attitude. The butler paused and looked down at me. His expression didn't change.

"Robin," he said, "I understand your frustration, but Slade wishes to inform you that your attitude is not that of a hero. He's disappointed at your lack of manners."

_What the heck?_

"I'm sorry that I'm not living up to his expectations," I snapped. "But like I said before: he doesn't deserve my respect."

Who was Slade to judge anyone? Did he expect me to be like Batman, the ideal hero? Because if he did then he would be disappointed.

"Perhaps," Wintergreen said, "he isn't looking for your respect because he doesn't need it."

Well, I guess that was true. If Slade honestly that I was a waste of space then he wasn't going to waste his time trying to get me to think a certain way. Right? Well, I don't know. I don't make it a point to understand my enemies as people.

"Being locked up makes you destructive. You need better things to do with your time," Wintergreen said. "Coming up with an escape plan is not one of them."

"Then what do you suggest I do?" I asked sarcastically.

He frowned. "I don't know, Robin. I'm sorry that you have to be locked up like this."

My mouth opened slightly. Frowning even more deeply, Wintergreen quietly shut and locked the door. I stood there like an idiot for a few seconds before I recomposed myself. Maybe I should be nicer to Wintergreen. Maybe he really was being held prisoner by Slade but was forbidden to say anything about it. I made a mental note to look into that later. Still, he worked for Slade. I couldn't overlook that fact.

As I braced myself for another few hours of boredom I stripped off the gloves of the costume. Red X was a mistake. A terrible mistake. I wanted to burn this wretched costume and forget that this ever happened. But mistakes, whether trivial or not, have a way of haunting us until the repetition drives us insane. Sometimes one can't help but dwell upon them. With nothing to do and no one to talk to, there was nothing left for me to do but think about what I could have done, what I should have done…

_Let…me…out._


	6. Revelation

**-SW** -

I heard Wintergreen walk into my office. I knew why he was there and spent the past few minutes coming up with things to say. Funny, how I felt the need to defend my actions to Wintergreen. I really shouldn't have to do that.

"He tried to escape, Sir," Wintergreen said. "Was there anything you wanted me to say to him in particular?"

"Actually," I said, "I expected him to do something more…devious."

"Well, Sir, you didn't leave him many options."

I momentarily ignored Wintergreen as I checked up on the Titans yet again. They were searching for him now. While annoying, they weren't much of a threat now. Not unless they somehow managed to find me.

 _What if they do ask Batman for help?_ I thought suddenly.

Surely they wouldn't ask Batman for help…unless they were desperate enough. That was always a possibility. Yes, I considered the JLA's possible intervention. The Titans, though young, could eventually become a bigger threat if no one did anything about them. I dismissed the thought.

"Well, I'll go check on him, then."

I needed a break anyway. Without looking at Wintergreen I strode out of the room and down the hall towards Robin's room. As I walked I allowed several thoughts to run through my mind.

_Initially, I didn't want the Bat's brat._

Picking the right apprentice was a daunting task. I kept it as much of a secret as possible, although I suspected that the HIVE Headmistress knew something of my intentions. I already controlled the city, and I might frighten other villains into action if I picked up an apprentice as dangerous as Robin, or at least showed my intentions to others. The last thing I wanted was a power struggle with petty villains.

I opened the door to his room. He had changed clothes. He finally gave in and got rid of his Red X costume, which I suspected he didn't want to see again. Robin leaned against the wall, dressed in a black shirt and dark jeans. He looked up when I entered the room, a scowl on his face.

I purposefully left him alone for most of the day. He needed to come to his own conclusion about his actions. In a way, he needed to find his own peace with the fact that he made a big mistake. I didn't make him become Red X. He did it himself.

"What do you want?" he asked.

Huh. Already his tone annoyed me.

"A 'good afternoon' would have sufficed."

"I don't waste manners on you."

"Revise your tone at once, young man."

He felt trapped. I could see it. His whole body tensed, as though he expected me to hit him for his earlier escape attempt. Even his voice was tight with suppressed fear. One wrong action or word could set him off.

 _Trapped men do desperate things,_ I thought. I knew from experience that that was true. Perhaps I shouldn't make him feel so trapped. Perhaps it would diffuse the tension between us. I gestured for him to follow me.

I led him back to the main room and settled down in the metal chair. This was the room where I held most of my business meetings. I suppose that, for the time being, this was a business meeting of sorts. Robin glared at me for a few seconds before he finally exploded.

"What are you using the Chronoton Detonator for?" He demanded. "I saw it in the other room!"

"Quiet, Robin."

For a split second I was tempted to address him by his real name, merely for the sake of getting him to shut the hell up. There were several cards I had yet to play, but it would be too early to reveal that I knew his secret identity. I had to trickle out certain information in tiny bits. Robin shook his head.

"I can't be quiet about this, Slade."

"You will be when I'm talking."

No matter how amusing bantering was, I didn't have time for it now. As he opened his mouth to argue some more I held up a hand. "I don't want to fight you. I don't have time for your schoolyard tactics." I placed my fingertips together. "We're going to talk like civilized people. And it won't be about the Chronoton Detonator."  
A strange guttural noise emitted from Robin's throat, as though he didn't believe that we could talk like civilized people. However, he didn't say anything more. Good. He needed to listen.

"If you want to know why you're here, the clues lie in front of you. You can figure it out. So do it."

He said nothing, but I knew that he was thinking. It was probably a question that's been on his mind since he arrived. He shot me a strange glance, as though startled that I was ordering him to come up with an answer on the spot. Robin shifted uneasily from one foot to the other.

Really, it wasn't that hard to figure out…

"You're smart enough to do it, Robin."

The eyeholes of his mask suddenly went wide. I could almost hear his brain ticking away, putting together the clues I set out for him to find.

"What is it that I'm trying to do, Robin?" I asked pleasantly.

"You want to…teach me." An expression of extreme confusion crossed his face. "But…why?"

Despite everything he's gone through, all of the suffering he's experienced, he's still innocent in many ways. It was hard for me to fathom how a kid like him could come out of that bloody circus tent still thinking that the world can be improved. That even with all of the Tony Zuccos in the world he still thinks that people can change. That heroes can change the world for the better.

Not so.

The world is a mess. It'll never be fixed. Everyone, governments, the military, down to the last pocket thief, is out for himself. True altruism can never be accomplished. And even if a hero claims that it's genuine, then he's just using that to hide an interior motivation for personal gain. Right now I can forgive Robin for thinking so optimistically. He's young. Most young people are optimistic. But it's that blinding moral superiority that prevented him from completely accepting his dark side.

"The reasons are my own," I said curtly.

He snapped out of his daze.

"There's absolutely no reason for me to learn anything from you!" Robin snapped. "I won't."

In those few seconds he looked very much like a frightened child. Robin was aware that I had the power to control him. Like I said before: establishing control from the very beginning was crucial to the manipulation process. No matter what he said about being able to beat me, I think that he knew he really wouldn't be able to. Not physically. Not mentally. Never.

"Why not?" I asked. "You have no reason to go back to your friends. They don't trust you."

"I'm sure that joining you would totally convince them!" he shouted. "Your logic is flawed, Slade."

"As is yours, Robin." I smirked underneath my mask. Even his argumentative skills needed honing. "Does it really matter if they trust you? You're the protégée of Batman. You deserve more than that team."

He looked tired. Even with the mask on his face I could see the purple half-moons hanging beneath his eyes. He must have lied this morning when he said he slept well last night. His shoulders slumped dejectedly. Being locked up all day tried his patience. Was he getting tired of arguing already?

And his logic was flawed. If he was truly a "good guy" then he would have never taken up the cape in the first place. He would have gone through the normal life of a teenaged boy before going into the military or the police force. But instead, like his mentor, he chose the vigilante path. If he cared so much about his surrogate family, then he wouldn't have lied to them.

 _Then again,_ I thought grimly, _I lied to my loved ones as well. And look where that got me…_

"Not like you would understand how I care about them," Robin said, looking away. "You can't make me do anything."

"On the contrary, Robin, I've manipulated you up to this point. You know that."

I hardly had to lift a finger to get him to follow me. I played on his obsession to win, to solve each and every case regardless of the consequences. I think he realized that I was manipulating him once he came to meet me yesterday. There was going to be a fine line between teaching him how to manipulate people and being careful not to be manipulated by him. Save for Starfire, he managed to convince the rest of his team that he was someone else. That took some skill.

"You can't torture me into working for you," he said. "I…nothing you can do to me will make me change my mind."

"Who said anything about torture?"

"I…well…" He looked uncomfortable. "You beat me up yesterday."

"That hardly counts are torture. You deserved it."

"Don't justify what you do, Slade. It's still wrong."

"I don't need to justify what I do to make myself feel better about it. Do you, Robin?"

Indeed. Monetary gain was my only goal. Screw morals. I don't consider myself the bad guy. I'm just trying to make a name for myself in this godawful world. It doesn't matter how one goes about doing it. The end result is all the matters.

"I'm helping other people. That justifies itself."

"Of course it does."

Really, his logic was laughable. He didn't fail to catch the mockery in my voice.

"What do you get out of belittling me?" he asked. "Don't you have better things to do?"

"I'm capable of making your life hell. Don't push me to that extreme."

"Why do you want to teach me? You know nothing about me."

"I know more than you think. Maybe you're right and I won't be able to break you. But I can be destructive in other, more useful ways." My voice hardened. "I can hurt your friends, Robin. I can hurt the people of this city."

It was so tempting to follow through with my threat. It was so tempting to beat the snot out of him for every single snarky comment he made. Maybe I would. Maybe I wouldn't. Robin had a breaking point. Everyone did. But breaking him that way wasn't how I wanted this apprenticeship to go. Following through with my threat to hurt others would also be counter-productive. It wouldn't benefit my immediate plans.

"That's what you've been trying to do all along—"

"Whether or not other people will get hurt is up to you, Robin. I'm capable of many things, as are you." I put my hands behind my back. "I haven't done anything yet to hurt your precious city, but don't try to stop me if I do."

"You assume a lot."

"That's because I'm usually right."

One of the most important things about this apprenticeship would be for me to be logical. Robin doesn't expect villains to be logical. I had to remember that the majority of the villains Robin has dealt with aren't logical. Most Gotham villains aren't even sane. Me, I'm sane. I don't create destruction for destruction's sake, and neither do I commit violence for violence's sake. Everything has a purpose. While I must admit that my temper can sometimes get…out-of-control…I wouldn't torture Robin. I'd never do it on purpose.

He looked up at me, his brow furrowing. "I don't want to learn anything from you. Why teach me if I don't want to learn?"

"I think you'd be surprised at what you can learn from me," I said. "Or are you scared to agree because you'll know that the big black bat would disapprove?"

He stared at me for a few seconds before avoiding my gaze again. I filled in the silence with other words, words that I knew would bite deeply.

"He wouldn't like it…you becoming Red X. That's a line he wouldn't cross. " I suddenly thought of something. I knew it wasn't true, but it would annoy Robin. "I've always wondered, Robin: is he your father?"

Something within him snapped. His hand flicked towards his waist, as though he meant to grab something from his non-existent utility belt. When he grasped air his fingers threatened to form fists.

"What do you know?" Robin demanded. "Nothing. You don't know anything about him, so don't pretend that you do."

"What's wrong?" I asked, my tone mocking. "I always thought you worshipped him."

"Well then, you thought wrong!" He spat. "He's none of your business!"

His hands began to curl into fists. I could see the whole situation unfolding before my very eyes. If I allowed him to start a fight I knew that it would only fuel my temper. I couldn't have that.

"Don't you dare start another fight," I growled. "Trust me: you won't go far. Just like all the other times…"

"I'm already sick of your mind games!" Robin's fists began to shake. "And why should I trust you?"

For the first time since he arrived I didn't know how to respond. I always kept telling him that he would have to convince me to trust him—but how could he do that if he couldn't learn how to trust me? At that moment I didn't have an answer for him.

"I meant to keep you in the dark a lot longer," I said, "but I have a schedule to keep. You want a chance to fight a fair fight? A chance to beat me? Then train with me tomorrow morning. If you still intend on betraying me, learning everything about me, then what better way than to work for me?"

Even with the mask on his face I could see that he felt conflicted. Even if he didn't believe it, I would give him a fair chance to beat me. I only offered him this because I knew that I would be able to beat him. Sure, he posed a threat, but only because of his potential. However, I wouldn't let him know that he posed such a threat.

Seconds stretched into a minute. Still, he didn't respond. In a way, silence was good: that meant that he felt inner conflict.

"If you prefer to give me the silent treatment, then by all means entertain me."

"Fine."

Robin crossed his arms resolutely over his chest. Even so, he sounded hesitant. I knew that his imprisonment all day in silence had already unnerved him. The silence would dig into him, and force him to talk even if he didn't want to. If he didn't want to talk, then I wouldn't make him.

You see, Robin's not a part one of my contracts. I didn't hunt him down to kill him. I needed someone with brains, someone who could handle the kind of training I went through as a young man. He's a human being. A kid, really. Teenagers are moody. I know from experience. If I honestly wanted to get through to him, to get him thinking like me, then I needed to play his emotions. At the very least I needed to get him to sympathize with me.

 _But I'm not telling him my personal life story,_ I thought. _That's going too far._

I knew that I wasn't doing a good job of getting him to sympathize with me. It didn't take a genius to realize that he had no reason to believe everything I told him. Why should he, if he sees me as the villain? A captor? Still, eventually he would begin to understand why I was doing this to him.

"It may seem bad now, Robin," I said, "but trust me: you'll learn to like it."

While a malevolent tone would have been fun (just to mess with him) I didn't speak malevolently. Instead, I spoke conversationally. I had to deconstruct every single preconception that Robin had of the big bad villain. Considering his past, it would be difficult.

But it wouldn't be impossible.

I walked past him, intending to let Wintergreen handle him while he thought about my proposition. I had work to do. It seemed as though I always had work to do. Robin didn't move. He just stood there, still trying to comprehend what was happening to him. If it didn't sink in that he was going to learn, whether he wanted to or not, then it would tomorrow after training.

"I'm not a waste of space, Slade."

He said this very quietly, so quietly that I almost missed it. My one eye searched his face as I wondered where that comment came from. My first inclination was to mock him, but that wouldn't be the right response.

"I said that you're a waste a time, not a waste of space."

He looked startled that I obliged to reply. Or perhaps he was startled that I replied so civilly. I don't think I'll ever know for sure.

"Does Batman think you're a waste of space?" I asked. "Is that why you left Gotham?"

He didn't respond. I didn't expect him to. I placed a hand on his shoulder and made him look at me. For the first time in minutes he looked so incredibly weak. So insecure. I never felt as insecure as he did when I was his age. But he wasn't me. He wasn't Batman either. I had to remember that.

"You have potential, Robin. You have a brain that got you this far. That doesn't make you a waste of space. When you don't apply that potential then you're a waste of time."

Somehow, I got the impression that I got through to him. He allowed the words to sink into him without trying to insult me. How long has it been since someone encouraged him like that? I suspected that Wayne's butler took on a paternal role in Wayne's absence, but Robin's relocation to Jump City made him alone. Sure, his teammates praised him simply because he was…well…Robin. But there was more going on between Batman and Robin, more that Robin would never talk about with his teammates.

Robin was very messed up. While I know that I'm nowhere near a saint I know where my morals lie. Robin could very easily be persuaded to think differently. I smiled underneath my mask.

This was going rather well.


	7. Silence

I knew that he was going to make me come out, no matter what I said or did.

I didn't want to say anything. He already messed with my head and I couldn't let him do it anymore. Once Slade started egging me on yesterday it hit me: he wanted to teach me.

I guess deep down I knew that was the answer. But it seemed so absurd that I didn't even want to consider it. Why should I? No other villain has ever demanded this of me before. I don't think Bruce ever prepared me for this kind of a villain.

What on earth had I possibly done to make Slade want me as an apprentice? Is that why he screwed with my head all this time? To test me? Who knows? I don't think I'll ever understand Slade. Maybe that's a good thing.

As I woke up the next morning I lay there, trying to sort out what was going on in my mind. Honestly, the thought about being Slade's apprentice…working for him…terrified me. There was nothing in that career path for me. I couldn't see myself being happy, not even if I wanted to work for him.

To my surprise, I did feel rested. I don't know why, because I shouldn't be in this place. This morning I felt calm. Far calmer than I did yesterday, that's for sure. I shouldn't feel calm, but for some reason I felt as though my conversation with Slade yesterday helped calm me down. That's rather frightening, if you really think about it.

Figuring that "training" with Slade was better than sitting in here all day, I followed Wintergreen's direction when he walked into the room. After a light breakfast I walked into a different room, one that obviously functioned as a gym.

Slade was waiting for me. He tossed me a bo-staff. I caught it silently, not caring that he was obviously pissed.

"You're late."

Really? He was going to lecture me again?

"Do I look like I care?"

"You should care."

"Well, I don't." I twirled the bo-staff and didn't look at him. This certainly wasn't mine, but it was just as good. "I'm fashionably late."

"Another reason why Batman kicked you out?"

This time the comment didn't catch me off guard. Now it was obvious that Slade was going to keep pushing that button. Maybe it was because it hurt. A lot.

"It's a lot more complicated than that. I don't expect you to understand."

"On the contrary, Robin: I do."

He lunged at me with the bo-staff. I retreated quickly and parried the bo-staff away from my face. In the few seconds that I had I whipped my bo-staff straight back at him. He blocked the blow and began to advance again.

"Your technique is quite good, but you do lack patience."

I grunted in response. I swear if I could see his face, he would probably be rolling his eye at me. However, I didn't fight with as much gusto as I did before. Now that I was fighting Slade more and more I learned from my mistakes. While I knew that it would be a while before I could pick up most of his fighting habits it seemed as though he had already picked up mine. While not as cruel as he was the day before, he didn't fail to hit me every time I made a mistake.

It was almost like training with Bruce again.

He slammed his bo-staff into my side, knocking the wind of me. Before I had time to counter-attack he kicked my legs out from underneath me. I fell to the floor, my bo-staff clattering beside me. For some reason, Slade waited for me to get up.

 _I really can't beat him,_ I thought, using the time to catch my breath for bit, _he's too strong. I need my friends…_

"I'm not like him, you know," Slade said. He held out his hand. "Get up."

I snatched the bo-staff and stood up. I didn't need his help.

"I hope you're not like him," I spat. "You can never replicate what he did for me. Ever."

What did Slade hope to accomplish? He can't seduce me to the dark side, but if he did…if he did then it would be the biggest insult to the Dark Knight. Was this about Batman, then? Was he trying to get to Batman through me? Or was this really about me?

"What do you want in life, Robin?" Slade asked. "If you do happen to put me in jail…which I doubt…what then? Crime will continue to happen regardless of your intention to stop it. So why bother?"

"Why should I believe anything you tell me?" I demanded. "If my friends don't trust me, then I want to hear it from them."

I threw the bo-staff to the ground. I wasn't going to learn from him. Whatever his future plans were, I wasn't going to help him commit crime. Both of us stared at the bo-staff until Slade broke the silence.

"Pick it up."

I didn't even care. He didn't deserve a response. I folded my arms over my chest and stood resolutely still.

"I'm not going to tell you again: Pick. It. Up."

Just to piss him off, I kicked the bo-staff away. Even then I knew that it was a mistake. To tell you the truth, I misjudge people all the time. Even though I've fought Slade before I still didn't know his capabilities. For example, Slade moved fast.

Way fast.

His bo-staff smashed into me before I could even begin to move. Slade forced me to back up quickly. My back touched the wall as he pushed the tip of his bo-staff against my neck. It occurred to me that, even with his great dramatic reveal about this apprenticeship, that he was psychotic. I raised my hands—it was clear that I wouldn't win this one.

"I could kill you so easily. Bash your brains in. Or maybe break your neck," Slade mused. "Even with a weapon as simple as a staff. Taking a human life is so easy…have you ever been tempted to take a life, Robin?"

My lips twisted into a grimace as I lied, "No."

 _You're crazy_ , I thought. _Bruce would never threaten me like this._

After a moment he lowered the bo-staff. My hands dropped to my side. I don't think I was bleeding anywhere, but jeez…I could already feel the bruises forming. I was going to be in a world of hurt tomorrow morning.

"Lesson number one, Robin: never allow your opponent an advantage. Even Batman—"

"Will you just shut up about Batman?"

Slade had mentioned Bruce one too many times. No matter how much I tried to ignore it, I knew that Slade was deliberately pushing my buttons. But Slade could never understand what Batman means to me.

"Have I hit a nerve, Robin?" Slade asked quietly. "Why don't you want to talk about Batman?" When I didn't reply he continued to speak. "You also never answered my question: is he your father?"

 _No…_ I thought, _he can't possibly know how I feel about that. I guess it's not so strange…everyone thinks he's my dad…it's a common misconception…_

Still, the question, like it did yesterday, hit me hard. Mentally, I told myself earlier that I wasn't going to let him get to me…but now…

"No."

"No? Do you mean 'no' as in you've mentally separated yourself from your father, or 'no' or as in he's not your biological father?"

"Why…why are you asking me this?"

There was no way to hide the hesitancy in my voice.

"I'm just being curious."

_Never allow your opponent the advantage._

But Slade already had the advantage. I unwittingly gave it to him by my reactions to his comments about Batman. He knew that Batman was a touchy subject for me. Then again, most of the Titans knew that too…

"Do you feel as though you have to impress him?" Slade asked. "By catching me?"

I couldn't tell him to stop. That would only make it worse. But what could I do? My silence only encouraged him to keep talking, which I didn't want. Either way, it seemed as though I wouldn't be able to stop him. My eyes never left his face as I stood there, frozen, afraid of what he was going to say next. Just how much did he know?

"I've met him once or twice. Not personally, of course, but still…I admit that he's a force to be reckoned with. He's almost as good as I am."

He met the Justice League? And he's run into Batman before? How? Was that a mission that Bruce didn't want me to tag along in, or a mission with the Justice League? With these questions rolling around in my head I almost didn't hear Slade's next question.

"Was it hard to live up to those expectations that people placed in you because of him?"

Yes, yes it is hard. People always expect great things from me because I'm Batman's protégée. But at the same time they treat me differently because I'm a kid. Slade just kept on talking.

"You can't beat him. You sure as hell won't beat me."

Slade bent down and picked up my bo-staff. He threw it carelessly at me, and I almost dropped it. My hands shook as I forced them to grip the bo-staff. Why did I feel so nervous?

"When you don't do something well, you're insulting yourself," Slade said. "You know you can do better. You're capable of doing better."

Of course I'm capable of doing better, you jerk.

"Was his training difficult, Robin?" Slade asked. "Did you ever feel like you lived up to his standards?"

My instincts screamed at me to leave, but I couldn't turn my attention away from Slade. I could only listen.

"He kicked you out, didn't he? He didn't want you to be his partner because you couldn't live up to his standards. Did you start this team to protect this city, or because you wanted to spite him? To prove something to him?"

_"SHUT UP!"_

It came out of my mouth before I could stop myself. With that single word I condemned myself. I wanted him to stop talking. I began to back away, but he grabbed a fistful of my shirt and yanked me back.

"You can't run away from your problems, Robin. You can't keep avoiding the obvious questions."

I tried. I tried so hard not to let him get to me. But I was failing miserably.

"So what happened between you two? Why doesn't he trust you anymore?"

My mouth opened to answer, but I shut it quickly. Slade didn't deserve an answer. It wasn't something I even talked about with my friends, so why should I tell my greatest enemy? Still, it was so ingrained in me to answer an adult truthfully…

"It wasn't my fault," I whispered.

"It was your fault. You should have walked away first. You should have said something sooner. You let him walk all over you. " I said nothing to this. I merely stood there, terrified, as he continued to lecture. "You trusted him. And he betrayed your trust, so you left. Isn't that right?"

 _I did trust him,_ I thought, _I trusted him with my life. He said that he would keep me safe. He said that I would be his partner…that…that…_

Slade shrugged when I didn't respond.

"If you decide to stay a cape, then you're going to have to get past me," Slade said. "You're going to have to be ruthless if you want to escape. More ruthless than Batman ever taught you to be."

Forcing me to the dark side…no, I wouldn't let him. But if I was going to be ruthless, then I could only assume that Slade was going to be as equally—if not more so—ruthless. Could I do it? Right now I wanted nothing more than to get out of here.

"Batman didn't teach you to protect yourself. Why else are you here?

"That's a lie!"

"Batman doesn't appreciate you. Your friends take you for granted, so they don't appreciate you. The city doesn't appreciate you."

"I'm not looking for recognition." My voice wavered. "I don't want it."

"Don't lie." Slade smirked, or at least I thought that he did under his mask. "You can't ask for your friends to save you. They don't trust you. You can't ask Batman to save you. He doesn't care. And if he's not your father then why should he?"

I had no answer for him. How was it that in a few minutes he completely turned the conversation against me? His questions forced me to come to the conclusion that everything I thought and believed was wrong; even though I knew that they weren't true. His questions reverberated inside my inside like laundry tumbling in a dryer. They were incessant…maddening.

"I'm sure your real parents would have wanted him to raise you better."

That did it. Even if I wanted to fight, I don't think I could have made myself fight. Slade's words just sounded so…right. Every suppressed thought I harbored towards Bruce just slipped out into the open. Would my parents have wanted me to become a super-hero? Was that the kind of life they wanted me to live? Was it ever my fault that I got myself into this mess?

I didn't know, so I answered him with silence. And thus my apprenticeship with Slade began.

I had no intention of staying in this for very long. No one ever does. But a combination of guilt and terror made me stay. I couldn't go back out and face my friends. Not after what I did. There was something about Slade's words that made me believe he knew so much about me. More than I wanted him to know.

And what else could I do? Not only were my nerves at an end because of my little chat session with Slade, but he also had the power to keep me here. So I did what I could only do: endure and hope for the best while I figured out a way to escape.

I don't know what was worse: being dragged out every morning to be used as Slade's personal punching bag or being locked up when I wasn't training. The hours spent locked in my room were annoyingly quiet. There was nothing for me to do. I couldn't entertain myself.

I was so used to being surrounded by people. Even if I was in my room at Titans Tower I could still hear Beast Boy or Cyborg playing video games. I could hear Raven's chanting. I even missed Starfire's occasional Tamaranean folktunes. At least in Wayne Manor I could talk to Alfred when I was bored. And as a child in the circus there were always people to talk to or to play with. Here, there was no one.

Silence permeated every part of my life here. I found it strange that Slade didn't talk to me anymore, especially after that last lecture. It was hard to decide whether or not I appreciated the fact that he left me alone. He was supposed to be teaching me, right? So why wasn't he talking to me, even while we were training? He just kind of...sparred with me until I couldn't handle it anymore or when he got bored. Mealtimes were quiet. If he gave me an assignment then I would do it quietly while he worked. I was supposed to be seen and not heard. Sometimes, though, the silence was almost deafening.

Silence is maddening because it leaves me to dwell on my thoughts. Eventually my anger subsided as I realized that the situation wasn't going to get better. No one was coming to save me. With nothing to distract me I could only concentrate on the mistakes I made.

Days slipped by. I swear that Slade was messing with me in subtle ways. The clocks weren't on the same time. I haven't seen real sunlight in days. Whenever I was in the main room the gears clicked endlessly. It would drive anyone crazy. However, I wasn't dumb enough to ask questions. For now.

I needed to get out.

Sometimes I felt an overwhelming urge to claw at the walls, to make noise so that anyone…someone…would hear me. But I didn't do it because I knew it would be useless. It became so bad that I wanted Slade or Wintergreen to talk down to me. But there was nothing to talk about. I mean, with Bruce there was always something to talk about. I knew him. We had a connection. Slade and I, we can't connect. It was the same with Wintergreen. He seemed much kinder than Slade and made an effort to make me feel better about all this, but again what is there to talk about?

With Slade I could always assume that, when he did talk to me, it was only to order me around. I would insult him and he would retaliate, but he didn't beat me like the first day. I guess…I don't know…it wasn't so bad as it could have been. In a way, I felt as though I couldn't talk to Slade because I felt so intimidated. I couldn't help but feel so very small compared to him. Well, I hadn't felt that way at first. Slade held this aura of awesome power, rather like Batman. Well, there I go again comparing the two. There shouldn't be any comparison. Bruce is so different. So much kinder. He would have never done this to anyone.

Slade was dangerous. He was so dangerous. And I was scared of him. Call me weak, call me a coward, but that's what I felt: fear. Fear of what he could do to my friends and fear to what he could do to me. While he didn't beat me every day it was clear that he could. What made it terrifying was the fact that he could snap at any moment.

I hugged my knees to my chest. Never, in my whole life, had I ever felt so alone. And even though I've spent so much time here already I still have no idea what Slade was planning to do. But I found that I was beginning to care less and less about what Slade was up to. What business did I have in this hero business? I was just a kid. I have other personal problems to deal with.

But like it or not I was already involved in the hero business. Batman dragged me into it, and now I was in the employ of the world's deadliest super-villain. Was it my fault that I was here, or was Batman the root of all of my problems?

I really didn't know.


	8. Interlude 1: Gone

**Interlude 1: Gone**

**Searching. Formulating a plan.**

**Should we call Batman?**

**Leaders.**

* * *

 

**-Cyborg-**

**Forty-eight hours.**

At this point I could say that we were in a state of emergency. Sad to say, we didn't make much of Robin's disappearance until late yesterday morning. Contrary to popular belief, Robin was an introverted guy. He was the only person on the team who wore a mask, who kept his civilian identity a secret. If he had to go do something, we usually didn't ask why.

Whenever Robin wasn't around the leadership fell onto my shoulders. Technically, I was the oldest Titan, but Robin was the leader because he had the most experience. But this wasn't like the time Robin went missing when we fought the HIVE.

Back then, we weren't much a team. The HIVE so easily defeated us without Robin there to lead us. Sometimes I wonder if we would have defeated the HIVE kids at all if Robin didn't show up. He may not have superpowers, but he had the know-how to make a plan.

I'm not like him; I wasn't trained by the world's greatest detective. I'm the mechanic on the team, but now I was the leader. I had to think like Robin. Find out what happened. But, like everyone else, I had absolutely no idea what to do. Robin just disappeared overnight. He left no note, no message. He didn't tell anyone that he left, so we could only assume foul play.

So what the hell happened to him?

I checked the security logs and frowned. Security was down for two minutes at around midnight two days ago. Someone slipped out. If Robin went out by himself, was he trying to hide the fact that he left the Tower? Or did someone break into the Tower?

_Hm. Someone breaking through my security…_

I didn't want to think about it, but I always had to keep that possibility open. It would be stupid not to. My metal fingers drummed against the wall as I tried to think.

"Cyborg?"

Starfire's voice hustled me away from my thoughts. We sat in the common room of Titans Tower. By now we knew that physically searching for him was useless. BB spent hours trying to find Robin's scent. Even Raven tried reaching out to him with her soul self, but to no avail. He was just gone.

For the hundredth time I switched on my communicator, hoping that this time, Robin would pick up.

"His communicator is still offline," I said. "Why?"

"We don't know," Raven said, "he might have slipped back into his civilian identity…?"

That was always a possibility. None of us knew who he was, but we didn't need to in order to work as a team. If he had some sort of family emergency to deal with…but…he would have told us anyway, right? He wouldn't abandon us.

"He was raised by the world's best brooder," Beast Boy said. "I'm sure he's fine."

"We can't be sure," I said. "Let's not jump to conclusions."

So we continued to look. It was like a great Easter Egg hunt, only we were searching for a person.

We started as the alarm began to sound.

"Trouble near the docks!" Raven exclaimed.

It felt wrong to leave without Robin. It felt wrong to leave without anyone. But if Robin was in trouble, then he would want us to go on without him.

"Titans, go!" I shouted.

Even that sounded wrong, coming from my lips.

**72 hours and counting.**

The police handcuffed Mumbo and began to take him away. Even for a minor villain he could still cause a lot of damage. We could handle him by ourselves.

"How did he break out of prison?" I asked aloud.

Everyone else shook their heads as a swarm of reporters overcame us. A woman stuck a microphone into my face and began to speak so quickly I almost missed her question.

"Cyborg," one of the reporters said. "Robin's been missing for days now. Where is he?"

As politely as I could, I pushed the microphone out of my face.

"That's private Titan business," I replied, "we're not talking about it."

Still, the crowd swarmed around us like a living being, pulsating with a life of its own. Why wouldn't they stop talking? Why wouldn't they listen? I didn't want to accidentally hurt someone. My bulky body moved awkwardly as I tried to get out of the way.

"Why won't you tell us where Robin is?" another reporter asked. "Is it because you don't know where he is? Is he missing?"

_"Azarath Metrion Zenthos!"_

Darkness crept over us as Raven teleported us away, back to the rooftop of Titans Tower. Beside me, Beast Boy shivered as Raven's magic passed through him. Raven hesitantly pulled her hood down. For some reason, she looked even paler than usual, if that was even possible.

"That's the only problem with being public heroes," she said. "The world won't leave us alone."

None of us said anything. It was hard not to notice Robin's disappearance. Back in the day when we first started people were more interested in Robin than in the rest of us. I guess that it couldn't be helped, since Robin used to work with Batman.

"Should we call Batman?" I asked.

Beast Boy squeaked in surprise. Even Starfire, who didn't know much about Robin's past, knew that Batman was a testy subject.

"No, we're not going to call Batman," I said. "We can do this ourselves. Besides, Robin doesn't like to talk about him. I don't think he would want us to call Batman."

I turned to look at them all. While it was nice to be the leader, I knew that Robin was the best for this team. After all, it was his idea to bring us together.

"Star?" I said. "You're quiet."

"I am worried," she replied, "That is all."

"We all are."

She looked away. Poor Star. Even I could see that she was close to Robin. She managed to make him smile. Not many people could do that nowadays.

The water rumbled. A familiar Atlantian leapt onto the rooftop of Titans Tower on a giant wave of water. He held up his communicator, which was flashing red.

"Titans," Aqualad said. "You called?"

"Yeah," I replied. "We need your help. We need all the help we can get."

If there's one thing I have to say about Robin, it's the fact that he's so well-connected with the cape community. People liked him. If he was ever in trouble everyone would come to his aid. None of us had connections like that, except for maybe Beast Boy. We would always have backup.

It was just that no one knew when the situation would get desperate enough to call Batman. Then again, he is the world's greatest detective. Sooner or later he was going to figure out how much of a mess we were in.

That wasn't going to be fun.

**Five days and counting.**

We still looked. We would keep looking until we found him. We needed our leader…and more importantly our friend…back. If he was in trouble then we had to save him.

We called the other Titans we've been in contact with, and other sidekicks we thought could help. The more people we had looking the more likely we would be able to find him. By now everyone in the cape community knew that Robin was missing. Any time now a certain Gothamite was going to give us a call. No one had to tell me this. I just knew.

Even so, I did all that I could to find clues pointing to why Robin disappeared. So I began to search Robin's room. Truth be told, it felt SO wrong to be going through Robin's room. As a rule, we didn't go into each other's room without permission. Well…I guess BB and I kind of broke that when we went into Raven's room, but this was different.

If Robin left the Tower without telling us and somehow got into trouble, then there may be something here that might help. As I searched I wondered how Robin handled the pressure of leading this team.

 _Maybe he couldn't handle it,_ I thought, _maybe he just abandoned us._

Well, that was an unpleasant thought. Robin wouldn't abandon us, though. That would be completely out of character.

"If Robin left on his own, then where would he have gone?" I asked aloud.

No one answered me. Computers and technology can only do so much. A computer couldn't tell me why Robin left the Tower.

"What are you doing?" Starfire demanded.

I continued to search through Robin's room. It didn't help that Starfire was hovering over my shoulder. I could almost feel the air crackle with heat as she began to grow angry.

"You should not go through Robin's things!"

Straightening, I held up my hands and tried to calm her down. Sometimes Star can be as bad as Raven when she lost control of her emotions.

"I'm just looking for one thing," I said. "He's missing, Star. I'm sure he won't mind if we look through his room if it will help us find him."

Her lips trembled. For one moment I thought that she was going to yell at me. That was the last thing we needed: internal turmoil on the team.

"What's going on?"

Raven stepped into the room. She looked from me to Starfire, her expression betraying the fact that she understood what was wrong at once. I ignored them both as I began to open the drawers of Robin's desk. After a moment I finally found what I was looking for. I lifted a small, black rotund device from one of Robin's desk drawers.

"Is that…?" Beast Boy's eyes widened in disbelief. "Robin's…Bat communicator?"

Even I couldn't help but stare in awe. Batman…oh man…he was one dude I didn't want to cross. Even though we knew Robin as a friend it occasionally blew my mind sometimes that Batman practically raised him. It seemed surreal, almost, to have this link to an urban legend.

"We can't have Batman solve all of our problems!" Beast Boy said. "I mean, it's not that he isn't cool…because he is…but we should be able to do more!"

Even though Beast Boy was the youngest on the team, he could be the most optimistic when he wanted to be. I knew that he had issues with Mento, his father figure from the Doom Patrol. He probably understood why Robin had issues with Batman.

"It hasn't even been a week," Raven said. "So unless you really feel the need to ask Batman for help…"

Have we really exhausted all possible options? It hadn't even been a week since Robin disappeared, and we were already crying to Batman? Yeah, I knew that we could do better. Were we already crumbling under the pressure after a week? Admitting defeat was so hard to do. I knew that Robin had issues with it, and as a former high school athlete I had issues with it. I didn't want to ask any adults for help, because I knew that if we put our minds to it then we would be able to succeed.

But there comes a point where we have to put down our pride. Robin hadn't contacted us for five days. By now something was obviously wrong.

Pushing these ugly thoughts away, I turned to Starfire.

"Star?" Why wasn't she talking? Was she so worried that she wouldn't talk? Maybe I should talk to her….or maybe Raven should talk to her. "Are you ok?"

She looked up and nodded. Sighing, I crossed my arms over my chest and leaned against the couch.

"I'm not going to ask Batman for help," I said, "I just think he should know that Robin is missing."

"Then Batman will come to Jump," Raven said. "He'll take over the whole project. He'll try to fix everything himself. That's the same thing as asking him for help."

"The reporters already noticed that he's missing," I said. "Batman will come whether we invite him over or not."

That was the sad truth, then. I wanted so much to prove to everyone that I could handle this by myself. Maybe that would come another day. Robin's safety was more important than my pride. And like it or not, Batman did have a way of butting into other people's business.

I took out his Bat communicator. The others huddled around me as I turned it on. For a few seconds there was silence, albeit with slight static. After an eternity a gruff voice answered.

"Who is this?"


	9. Lies

**Part 2:**

**Your logic is unsound. Not your apprentice.**

**Lies.**

**Modus Tollens.**

* * *

 

**-SW-**

"You're driving him nuts," Will said. "Is it your intention? To make him lose his mind?"

"He wanted to be left alone."

"What you're doing is psychological torture."

"I know."

It was the only way to get through to him. Besides, I was so busy that I didn't have much time to deal with him. I told Will not to talk to him. If Robin wanted to keep to himself, then he was going to find out what the real loneliness was like.

Yes, I messed with his head. I changed the clocks. I had Wintergreen move his few possessions around when he wasn't in his room. I woke him up at different hours of the morning, just to keep him disoriented. Slowly, but surely, I was going to goad him into a nervous breakdown.

Sometimes he would make a smart comment, but I usually ignored him. I didn't have time for adolescent banter. Whenever we did fight I didn't offer him praise. If he said he didn't want it, then I wasn't going to give it to him.

A week passed in silence. Even Wintergreen didn't talk to me that much. My work was so absorbing that I didn't even mind that. Training Robin wasn't at the top of my priority list. I'll admit that I momentarily forgot that he was hanging around. It happens, sometimes.

"Slade?"

Wintergreen walked into the room. Although I told him not to disturb me I didn't ask him to go away. If he had something important to tell me then he would be blunt about it. I trusted his judgment. I didn't look up as he strode next to me.

"Slade," Wintergreen said. "This is something you need to know about the boy."

"He hasn't tried to escape," I replied in a disinterested voice. "He shouldn't be too difficult to handle."

"Sir, he's not eating."

 _That_ caught me off guard. I stopped typing and turned in my seat to look at Wintergreen. My mask wasn't on, so he could clearly see my perplexed face.

"What?"

That single word sounded loud, even to my own ears. Maybe it was because I've been working in silence for far too long.

"He refuses to eat. He won't touch his food."

A hunger strike, then. The little twerp. He was trying to spite me however he could. I stood up and reached for my mask, which was lying on top of my desk.

"How long has this been going on?"

"Oh, since yesterday afternoon. I had hoped that the situation would resolve itself, but he's refused any kind of sustenance."

"I suppose I should address it, then," I said, my voice irritated.

Well, this would explain why he seemed a bit sluggish in training today. I should have picked up on it myself. No matter. This was going to be dealt with.

"Slade," Wintergreen began, putting a hand upon my shoulder, "know that I did try to make him see sense. Be patient with him."

"I've been patient with him enough."

Leaving Wintergreen behind me, I stomped down the hallway towards the kid's room, stopping briefly in the kitchen. I didn't even bother to knock as I walked in. Robin sat on his bed, his back pressed up against the wall and his knees brought up to his chest. He sat quite still, not even stirring when I slammed the door shut behind me.

After his morning workout he changed into jeans and a black sweatshirt. My eye quickly scanned the room. I usually gave him something to do when I left him here. Of course, his newest assignment was left untouched on his desk. Typical.

"Robin."

He didn't look up. How irritating. I repeated his name not once, but twice more. Both times he ignored me. After the third time he pulled his hood over his head and looked away from me. At this I strode forward and yanked it back down.

"Don't be disrespectful. Answer me when I talk to you."

He straightened his sweatshirt and glared at me. "Show me some respect, then."

"I'm your elder, if not your better."

"Like hell you are. Have you finally come to talk down to me?"

While I expected him to sound angry, I didn't expect him to sound this angry. Then I remembered that I had kept him in near-constant silence for days. That would drive anyone mad. But I was so angry that he even dared to defy me like this that I had to break that silence.

"You haven't been eating."

A mixture of resentment and rebelliousness flickered across his face. Of course he knew that I would eventually address this, didn't he? His stomach grumbled loudly, utterly betraying him. At this Robin shifted to a better sitting position. He scooted to the edge of the bed, still staring at the floor as he talked to me.

"So what if I haven't?"

"It's not helping me, and it damn well isn't helping you."

"It's none of your business."

Was that his answer to everything?

"You're deliberately weakening yourself, you know that?" I said. "So why are you doing it?"

"To piss you off."

So, he seemed to understand that I wasn't going to let him go: that he was an investment I couldn't afford to lose. I suddenly thought of something: if I had gone through with the plan to blackmail him, there was a serious hole in that plan: the nanobots. I had to destroy that selfless attitude of his.

Like I said before: to successfully convert him I would have to think like him. Anticipate his movements. He doesn't have that instinctive survival attitude one would expect of a mercenary. Batman taught him that idiotic mindset of placing himself before others. This sudden refusal to eat brought light to the fact that Robin was willing to place himself in harm's way for the sake of others, even if that meant killing himself to do it. If hurting or killing (god forbid, he finds a way to inject himself with the nanobots) himself would hinder my agenda, then he would do it just to spite me.

He was going to have to be more underhanded than that to beat me, though.

I pulled out a small can of Ensure and held it up. He allowed his arms to fall to his side as he looked cautiously at it.

"Do you know what this is?"

"Yeah."

"What is it?"

"It's a can of Ensure."

"And what is it used for?"

"For feeding hospital patients who…" he began to trail off, but eventually forced himself to finish talking. "…can't feed themselves."

"Correct." I shoved the can into his chest and allowed it to fall. Robin automatically caught it. "You will eat whatever Wintergreen gives you. Do it or I will shove a plastic tube down your throat and feed you that."

Ha. He didn't seem too keen on that idea. Robin glanced down glumly at the can. Sure, there were other threats that I could make, but I didn't want to use any more force than necessary.

"Is that understood?"

Even if he was willing to take risks, I could see that he wasn't willing to take that one. It would hurt his pride too much to be force-fed. Although I knew that it was rather a harsh law to enforce I couldn't have him starve to death. Hopefully the threat would be enough to stop him from trying that again. I didn't want to force-feed him.

Robin shut his eyes tightly for a moment before replying, "Yes, Sir."

Good boy. He was choosing his battles. Oh, I knew that he would fight back. I'd be disappointed if he didn't, but I didn't want to fight over every little thing with him.

"Good," I said, "now drink it. You must be hungry."

There. That would teach him a lesson. He didn't speak as he popped open the can and did as he was told. For once.

I didn't offer any conversation either. Silence could be just as useful as a lecture. Well, there wasn't really anything for me to say. He grimaced as he drank it. It wasn't nearly enough for him to eat, but it should at least lessen his hunger. Maybe tonight I would make sure that he would eat. How annoying. I shouldn't have to babysit him like this. Once he finished he crumpled the can. For a moment I thought he would throw it at me, but he refrained himself. He dropped it into a nearby trashcan and continued to hang his head. His endless fascination with the floor was going to have to end soon.

"You are to do whatever Wintergreen tells you to do," I said firmly. "I'll know if you don't."

"Of course you will," Robin muttered.

"You also won't go on a hunger strike again, or I'll go through with my threat. Understood?"

"Yes…Sir."

I turned to leave. I had work to do, and regardless of the fact that Robin was my apprentice he was keeping me from my work. I was already annoyed with him as it was. However, he said something that pulled me back into conversation.

"So why haven't you talked to me?" he asked. "I thought I was supposed to be your apprentice."

It suddenly occurred to me that he starved himself for more than one reason. Although I knew that he was starving himself just to piss me off he also wanted to talk to me. Did he mean to draw me in like this? To get me to interact with him?

 _Probably,_ I thought.

How intriguing. Robin was using what little power he had to try to influence me. Perhaps I could play with this.

"You are. But until you fix your attitude I will leave you here in silence."

"That doesn't make sense. If I'm your apprentice, then you should want to talk to me."

Although he didn't say it, his words practically screamed "Batman!" He was comparing me to his old mentor. Not surprised. Why wouldn't he do that? While the Bat is formidable in his own way I was obviously the superior fighter.

"I only assumed that you would want me to leave you alone. I supposed I guessed wrong."

Surprise flew across his face. Why did he act so surprised? Was it because I hinted at the fact that I actually cared about how he felt? His brow furrowed as he thought of a reply.

"You are a terrible people person."

"We all are, in our own ways."

He stopped staring at the floor to look at me. Somehow, I got the sense that he didn't want a fight. Not unless I goaded him, of course. Did he want to talk?

"Slade, do you know what the definition of 'apprentice,' is?"

Hmm, where could he possibly be going with this?

"Do enlighten me."

"Back in the olden days an apprentice would be sold to a master for a specific price. He would be indentured to his master and legally obliged to be his servant." He glared at me. "That is, until he served his contract. But the kid could be carted around like a piece of property while serving under his master. What kind of a relationship is that? Not one that I want, you can be sure of that. I'm not your apprentice, Slade. I never will be, no matter how matter times you say it."

How cute. Robin was trying to mess with my mind. Like I said before, his arguing skills needed improvement. However, he did have a point: I couldn't mentor him if we didn't talk.

"The choice is entirely up to you."

"You're not giving me much of a choice."

"Did Batman give you a choice?"

He glared coldly at me, his lips tugging into a frown. "Yes, he did."

I'll admit it: I knew little about Robin's past with Batman. It didn't take a genius to see that the two of them had a falling out shortly before Robin left Gotham. Most of what I said was merely guesswork. Even if I thought I was wrong I just talked confidently, as though I did know what I was talking about.

"Hard to argue with him, though," I said. "Wasn't his word law?"

Robin stiffened at these words. Perhaps I was beating the subject of Batman down to a bloody pulp, but as long as it would hurt Robin then I was going to keep doing it. When he stopped responding to it then I would move on to another tactic. But since he kept getting agitated over it I said it again.

"Hard to argue with you too, Slade," Robin spat. "Go away."

To be honest, I didn't expect to give him a lecture today. But perhaps it was time to drive everything home. Robin had no business ordering me around. In fact, he had no business to try and fight me when it was so obvious who was going to win. But I didn't go away.

"Were you carted off as a kid?" I asked. "Always being bossed around? Bats was your breaking point, wasn't he?"

"No."

"No? Your parents are dead, aren't they?" I asked, not really meaning it to be a question. "So why did you put on the cape, huh? Was it to impress Batman? I'm sure your parents wouldn't have wanted this kind of life for you."

Hm. Robin seemed to be picking up the habit of not responding when asked a question. I grabbed his shoulder and shook him slightly.

"Silence isn't an answer, boy."  
"Stop it." He didn't sound confident. "Slade, stop it..."

"Then why don't you tell me the truth?"

"I just..."

"Or did Batman not teach you how to do that as well?"

"He's not..."

"He failed to protect you, didn't he? Come on, talk to me: what really happened between you two?"

_"I don't want to talk to a jerk like you!"_

So far I hadn't been too violent. Well, by my standards at least. Now he looked like he wanted to avoid a talk. I couldn't have that. I grabbed his chin and forced him to look at me.

"Hey," I said, "look at me."

He strained to get away. Both of us struggled not to throw the first punch. He wanted to fight so badly, but by now he understood that it would be futile. What good would it accomplish if he tried? Me, however…even if Robin started the argument I would always be in control. He knew that. I knew that. So for a few seconds we stood at this stand still, the room filled with awkward tension as we both tried to control our tempers.

"Do you think you can just walk away?" I demanded. "And not face the truth?"

"Yes."

I slapped him across the face. "Wake up, Robin."

He was shaking. Whether it was in fear or anger I don't think I'll ever know. Sometimes those two emotions were interchangeable in him. Me, I didn't feel fear. And if I did then I was sure to hide it, as I would soon teach him how to do as well. No matter how much Robin tried to hide his fears and insecurities his actions betrayed everything. No matter how hard he tried he could never be his mentor. Deep down, he probably knew that.

And I knew that as well. My goal with this apprenticeship wasn't to mold him into a smaller, younger version of me. If he was ever going to be a fully-fledged mercenary he would have to discover how he worked well. Yes, I would impose my own harsh standards on him. Why? Because adversity brings out the best and the worst in people, and I intended to bring out the best in him.

"Face it, you can't keep running away from your problems. You ran away from Gotham. You ran away from your friends. No wonder no one trusts you."

Like always, he threw the first punch.

Although I expected him to fight, I was disappointed that he didn't choose another time. This was a small room to fight in. No one should start a fight if he knows that he's cornered. Situational awareness was something we definitely needed to work on.

Starving himself really wasn't going to do him any good either. His fists flew at me in a wild relentless storm. If it was easy to beat him down before then this was child's play. His movements were uncoordinated. True, his increasingly unstable emotional state probably wasn't helping. In two short moves I had him incapacitated.

I grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back. Hm. He never learned, did he? This was in no way a beatdown—no, if I truly needed to do that then he would never trust me. But if talking wasn't going to do him any good, then I wasn't going to hold my punches. A soft whimper escaped from his lips as I twisted his arm harder. His knees began to buckle, but he forced himself to keep standing. It hurt. I knew it did. But I didn't care.

"Why don't you cry?" I asked, my voice a sneer. "Cry for your friends. Cry for the Bat. No one's coming here to save you."

Again, he said nothing. Being patronizing would get to him. He hated it. Well, any teenager would hate it. I know that I did. As I watched him struggle to control his shaking I wondered if I could make him cry. Was that what I wanted to do? No. Would it help me turn him against his mentor?

Yes, it would.

"I know."

His voice sounded strangled, a bit higher than usual. With my other hand I grabbed a fistful of his hair and yanked his head upwards.

"You know what?"

"…"

"Say it."

I let go and shoved him away. In a split second he turned around, his cheeks flushed with anger.

 _"God Slade, stop it!"_ he shouted. _"Why can't you just murder me like all the other villains?"_

He backed away from me and looked down at the floor, as though ashamed of the outburst. Something about his stance suggested that he was afraid of getting hurt again. As a mercenary, I hunt down people. I know fear when I see it. He was afraid of me. I didn't want him to fear me like a beaten dog. Rather, if he was to fear me, then it would be in a God-fearing way. I brushed away imaginary dust from my arm as I answered in a calm voice.

"Because I'm not like the others."

Even through the mask I could see his expression of disbelief.

There was nowhere for him to run. I didn't bring him to the main room to talk because this time I wanted him to feel trapped. I wanted him to confront all of the lies Batman shoved down his throat. He needed to be brought to his senses. He wanted to leave. I could tell. But I wasn't going to let him run away.

"Give up, Dick," I said. "You're not going to win."

I suppose that I expected a more explosive reaction from him, but to my surprise he said nothing. It was as if he expected me to know his secret identity. Or perhaps I had bombarded him with so much that he was past the point of caring. Maybe I should have waited to reveal that bit of information…

"I know everything. And if that hasn't been clear before, then I'm making it clear now. Accept my help. Accept everything. That's the only way you'll be able to overcome it."

Neither of us spoke for a long time. This time I didn't leave him alone. I already gave him plenty of time to think this through. While I was already putting him through training he only did it because I told him to. He only did it so that he wouldn't get hurt. But he has to stop thinking that way: that everything I did was intended to hurt him. No, it was all intended to make him a better person.

I allowed him to gather his thoughts. He was still trying to take all of this information in, but he couldn't cling to shock forever. Even though I addressed him by his name he ignored it. It was as though he was trying to deny the fact that I knew everything about him. Denial was going to get him nowhere and would only hinder his progress. However, in light of his current predicament, I allowed the matter to pass.

"Even if you're right," Robin said quietly, "that still doesn't make me want to be your apprentice."

Now I was getting irritated. More irritated than usual. He turned to me. "I still believe that they'll bail me out. They're heroes, after all. But even after this…whatever you just did to me…there's still no way I would ever want to work for you."

"You're still _not_ in a position to negotiate this."

"So you're going to beat me until I listen to you?"

"If I must, yes."

"That's no why to gain anyone's trust."

"The benefits outweigh everything else."

"That's not the way I see it."

"If I told you that I wouldn't let you eat until you sign a written contract, then would you do it?"

"No."

"An unwise decision. Why not?"

A slight smirk played on his lips. It flew past so quickly that I almost missed it. It gave me the impression that Robin knew something I didn't know, and that no matter how hard I pressed him he wouldn't say what it was. However, I said nothing about it. Perhaps I should be more cautious around him from now on. I smirked.

"I expect you to be ready to spar within an hour," I said.

"Screw you, Slade."

"Manners, Dick. Keep the mask if you want, but you can't hide from me forever."

Although he didn't say anything, I knew that calling him by his first name was irritating him. Eventually he was going to ask me to stop, however it seemed as though he didn't want to bring attention to it. Fine. He could do whatever he wanted about that.

I needed to blur the line between hero and villain. He had already done part of that himself. Forcing him to cross the line would eventually make him realize that there is no line. He is who he is, not some imaginary identity he made for himself or others. While I did hide my own identity from him it was more to mess with his head than anything else. If he could deduce my identity, then fine. His detective skills would finally be put to good use. But until then, he wouldn't know who I was until I decided to reveal my secret identity to him.

"I suggest you take the mask off. Do you know why?" I didn't wait for him to respond. "Because if you truly want to step out of Batman's shadow, then you're going to have to take off that mask and leave Robin behind. You're going to have to rediscover yourself."

The Robin identity was part of the Batman mythos. If he really wanted to break away from his old mentor, then he needed to create a new identity for himself. Red X was intended to betray, intended to deceive. The Red X mask hid his face. Aside from that alien girl, no one knew that it was Robin behind the mask.

When Robin—Dick—was ready to make his debut I wanted the whole world to know who was working for me. Whether he liked it or not he was born for the center ring. This may not be the same as a circus performance, but he was born to be in the spotlight. He was born to do bigger and better things. Wayne never gave the kid enough credit. Dick folded his arms over his chest.

"You captured me as a Titan," Dick said, "It's going to stay that way until I escape, Slade."

Sometimes I wondered just how intertwined his civilian identity and his Robin identity were. When he spoke, who did he speak as? As the orphaned circus boy or as the Batman's protégée? How intriguing. As I listened to him speak I tried to distinguish between the two.

"Stop thinking of this as an imprisonment. It's not."

"I don't need to be re-educated."

"It's not re-education. It's enlightenment."

"Call it what you want. You're not fooling me."

"On the contrary, I think I am." I laughed quietly. "Or perhaps you're fooling yourself."

Try as he might to sway me to the "light" side, he knew that it would never work. I have years of experience behind me. Even with all of the experience he's had, that still doesn't excuse the fact that he's young. I knew what my morals were. Dick didn't know what to think. He wanted to think of himself as the hero, but his actions said otherwise. This denial of his darkside wasn't good for his health.

"Even if you escape, what then?

"I'd put you in prison."

"But just like everyone else, I'd escape. If I were in the Bat's position, I wouldn't just subdue criminals. I would eliminate them…permanently."

"But—"

"As much as I would love to continue this conversation you, unfortunately, are not my top priority. Feel free, however, to discuss these things with me at a more appropriate time."

He needed to start the conversation. Anything he said I would be able to turn against him. To an extent, he understood that I had the power to do that. But if a person is lonely enough he will eventually want to talk. For the past week I've been playing on that simple emotion. I know from experience that it can drive a person to madness.

I was going to stop it just before it came to that, though.

"I hate you."

"Hate is such a strong word. I'd prefer that you not use loaded language in my presence." I stepped out of the room and began to close the door. "Save your frustration for the gym."

Maybe he would be silent for the rest of the day, or maybe he wouldn't. There's only so much that I can predict. Whatever the case, I would improvise slightly as I went along.

Already I could see the seeds of doubt blooming in his mind. While I accepted the fact that it would take some time for him to let go of Wayne, I couldn't wait forever. I'd have to speed up the process as best as I could.


	10. Chats

I was done.

There comes a point when people just don't want to deal with anything—or anyone—anymore. There's a difference between left alone and being neglected, and unfortunately I wanted to be left alone. Not here in the Haunt. I wanted to be outside so badly.

I didn't want to be left in silence again. At least when Slade talked I could figure him out. I could take a guess as to what made him angry or happy. But the more the silence thundered between us the more paranoid I got. What would set him off? If he did explode, what could I do or say to make him stop?

Funny, isn't it, how quickly one assimilates to these things? Changing your actions and words to fit the temperament of someone else? It becomes second nature in a situation like this. It was a mindset that I didn't want to fall into. God, I didn't want to think like that. But I accepted the fact that I wasn't going to win by brute force alone. I would have to escape by other means. And that meant that, for now, I was going to have to play by Slade's rules.

It was just so _hard._

The next morning I woke up before Wintergreen had the chance to wake me. Instead of lying awake to mope I got up, dressed, and waited. Even though I've been falling into a sort of routine I had no idea how the day would play out. It was hard to tell when Slade would completely lose it and when he would be somewhat…kind. I don't know what other word to use.

"Good morning."

I mumbled an incoherent response. Wintergreen deserved more politeness than that, but I was too depressed to care. I pulled the box of cereal towards me and poured it into the bowl.

"You're eating again," Wintergreen said nonchalantly.

So, Slade was letting Wintergreen talk to me again. How nice. A bit of color rose to my cheeks as I remembered yesterday's failed hunger strike. Why the hell did I do that? That was stupid, but I didn't know what else to do. It seemed fair to reason that even if I did everything Slade wanted me to do I wouldn't learn anything about my enemy. To beat him I needed to push my boundaries and find out what pissed him off.

Honestly, I hated this. Slade was doing everything he could to control every aspect of my life, and he was doing a good job of it. If I was surprised by anything, it was the fact that Slade came to fix the situation himself so quickly. I expected the strike to last a bit longer. Maybe Slade would have let me starve out of spite.

"Yeah…" I looked down at my food and grimaced. "I guess."

Honestly, I couldn't really blame the guy for telling Slade. He was just trying to do his job. Besides, Slade would have found out anyway. I couldn't be mad at Wintergreen.

"Well, I'm glad that you've decided to eat again, Richard."

Despite myself, I winced when he said my name. Wintergreen stopped messing with the food tray and looked at me quizzically.

"You don't mind me calling you Richard, then?"

The question surprised me. I didn't expect any villain or henchmen, least of all Slade's butler, to have any sense of empathy. I put down my fork and spoke to the floor.

"No," I replied softly. "It's my name, after all."

"You do mind."

His tone wasn't accusatory. It was a fact, not a question. He knew, and there was nothing I could say to make him think otherwise. After glancing at him I nodded.

"Well, if you don't want to be called that then you need to speak up."

"Speaking up never does me any good." Could I be honest with Wintergreen? Could I trust him not to rely everything I said to Slade? Honestly, no, I couldn't. Even then, talking to Wintergreen, I had to choose my words carefully. "Besides, it doesn't matter. It's not like my words mean anything to Slade anyway."

Like talking to Alfred instead of Bruce, I did find it easier to admit things to Wintergreen that I wouldn't admit to Slade. Of course, I wasn't foolish enough to voice all of my thoughts. Wintergreen had a limit to verbal abuse as well. Even though it was probably higher than Slade's I didn't want two people pissed at me.

"There is a difference between speaking up and causing trouble. Up until this point every single word that's come out of your mouth has been to sting. To hurt."

"Like you really expected me to say anything else?" I snapped. "This is a prison."

"I know it seems like Slade's beating you down, but he doesn't want you to be this submissive."

"Ya know it's hard to tell what he wants. I'm supposed to fight back, but not when I want to escape. He's a walking contradiction, Wintergreen. I hope you realize that."

"I'm not trying to argue with you," Wintergreen said. "I know you're feeling down. You have been since you've been here."

He reminded me so much of Alfred. In that moment I felt very, very homesick. My stomach twisted into a knot, and for a few seconds I felt like vomiting. A lump formed in my throat, stopping any words I wanted to say. Wintergreen wasn't mean to me, but neither was he as kind as Alfred. Everything about this felt hollow, a sick parody of the life I had before.

And why the hell wouldn't I be feeling down? I really hated how both Slade and Wintergreen acted as if they weren't keeping me imprisoned. Like this was all some sort…I don't know…summer camp. Wintergreen stood there watching me. Why wouldn't he leave?

"You know," Wintergreen said, "if you do need anything, then don't be afraid to ask me."

The feeling passed. No matter how much I wanted to cry, I knew that it wouldn't do me any good. Heroes don't cry. Robin didn't cry. Dick Grayson on the other hand…

"What I want…" I straightened and looked at him full in the face. "You know as well as I do that I want out. I don't want to be here."

No matter how nice he was I knew that he wouldn't help me. There was only so much he could do. His expression stayed impassive. I couldn't tell what he was thinking. Did he pity me? Was he annoyed? Or was he genuinely convinced that he could help me?

"Tell Slade that you don't want to be addressed by your first name. He'll listen."

My mind went on autopilot as the day wore on. It was one of the few ways I distanced myself from what was happening. I didn't want to hear what Slade had to say. In a way, that didn't help me. Although I hate to admit it I made the same mistakes over and over again. Yeah, I guess I could improve.

Even with my mind on autopilot, I occasionally snapped back to reality when Slade hit me hard enough during training sessions. A fist slammed into my face. Specks of spit and blood flew of my mouth as I fell backwards onto the floor.

"Poor quality, Dick," Slade growled, slamming another light switch on.

I blinked twice in the sudden light. Sweat stung my eyes as I snapped them open. The right side of my face began to swell. Sometimes the situation became so surreal that I began to wonder if the fights were real or not. The pain, however, was more than enough to ground me in reality.

"You're doing well enough to get by…but that's not nearly good enough."

I ran my tongue over my teeth to make sure that none of them were loose. Maybe I should ask for a mouth guard. Then again, he would probably say that those were for wussies.

"Sorry to disappoint you," I mumbled, wiping away the spit from my face with the back of my hand, "but that's all I'm trying to do: get by."

Pain shot through me as Slade replied with a boot to my gut. Curling up from the sudden pain, I rolled over onto my stomach, biting my lip to stop myself from screaming.

"You're insulting yourself with that poor attitude," Slade said, "you know you can do better. I know you can do better, so don't waste my time with this crap."

Something just confused me about all of this. He wasn't even offering me praise if I followed orders. I wanted some confirmation that I hadn't been reduced to a mere tool. At least the thought of me being his apprentice was better than being thought of as a tool. The former suggested that he cared about my well-being. Well, I highly doubt that.

Slade walked away, signaling the end of the lesson. I pushed myself to my feet and began to limp away. At that moment I wasn't even thinking about my friends or Bruce. Pain sometimes overrides everything. I just wanted a bag of ice and time to pass out on my bed. Before I got two feet away he grabbed the back of my shirt and yanked me backwards.

"We're not done yet. Sit down."

He shoved a chair towards me and gestured for me to sit down. Part of me wanted to sit down. We just sparred for three hours, and as always, Slade wasn't ever kind to me. Then again, if he wanted to lecture me then he could be sure that I wasn't going to pick a fight. Not while I was so tired.

Those few seconds of contemplation didn't bode well with Slade.

"Sit. Down."

After a moment's hesitation I sat down. A lecture was coming. I could sense it. I crossed my arms over my chest and sighed quietly. What did I do wrong now? Aside from the normal backtalk, I hadn't done much today to spite him.

 _I'm not going to say anything,_ I thought, _I'm not going to pick a fight. Just stay calm, Grayson, no matter what he says._

"It's been almost two weeks since your initial disappearance," he said.

"What?"

I couldn't stop myself. My jaw dropped as the realization fully hit me. Had I really been here for two weeks? That was long. Far too long for my taste. I forced myself to stay seated. All I had to do was sit through this. That wasn't so bad, was it?

"Now that I've given you some time to settle in, I feel as though it's necessary for you to know what's fully expected of you as my apprentice."

_And here we go._

"Your attitude needs to improve. Drastically. Your backtalk is hindering your progress." Slade began to circle me. "As my apprentice you are expected to be punctual, precise and powerful."

"You have a cute acronym to make me remember that?"

"Shut up. No one knows you're here, Dick. Not even other villains."

Wintergreen's words floated back to me. Should I say something about that? I didn't want to draw attention to my name. It was one thing to call me Richard, but another to call me Dick. Dick was something only my close friends called me. No matter how much Slade knew about my personal life he still didn't know anything about me. He had no right to call me that.

"I would appreciate it if you didn't call me that."

I said it in a way that wouldn't get him angry…well…at least I tried. By this time I was surprised that he didn't make me take off the mask.

"Why?"

What was I trying to say? The fact that Slade was an exceedingly patient man irritated me. He could wait hours, days, weeks to enact his dastardly plan. He caught me. He outsmarted me. I'll admit that he managed to do both to me, but that didn't give him the right to lord over me. Wintergreen was right: I did have certain rights. The question was: would Slade let me?

"Can you just…" What would be the point? Should I argue for this? Would it be worth it? "My civilian identity doesn't belong here."

"Then who does, if not Dick Grayson?"

Hearing him say my full name out loud made me flinch. "I don't know."

Robin was a hero. Red X was a thief. Dick Grayson was an acrobat. But who was the apprentice? Where did he belong in the spectrum of things? I really didn't know. I wanted to talk to someone about all of my insecurities, like Alfred. He would know how to handle things. Even talking with my friends…with Starfire…it would hurt to talk about this, but they would help me. They all would.

"Do you want your friends back?" Slade asked. "Do you really want to go back after all this?"

I clenched my jaw tightly and said nothing. There was nothing more I hated than admitting to my captor that I was lonely, and that that loneliness was slowly driving me insane.

"Let me go outside," I said quietly. "I've been inside long enough."

"You'll only be let out under my direct supervision."

Hmm. So what would I have to do to convince him to let me out? I didn't want to play his game for long. The longer I stayed here the more his logic began to make sense. I hated that so much.

"What can I learn from you, Slade?" I asked. "Batman taught me everything I need to know. It's not as if you're going to teach me astro-jitsu or anything."

Slade threw back his head and laughed. Humor, sometimes, is the only way to diffuse the tension in any situation. Instead of making me feel better, though, I felt even smaller. He had the ability to rip apart anything I said, and even if I was making a joke he had to mock me. His dark, sardonic laugh invoked nothing but negative feelings in me. Maybe it was because the last time he laughed I was lying beaten on the floor, unable to defend myself.

"You've been watching too much Clash of the Planets," he said. "No, unfortunately I'm not going to teach you astro-jitsu, no matter how appealing it sounds."

The aftershocks of his laugh rumbled in the room. For some reason I felt as though I shouldn't have made the reference. What was I thinking? That was dumb. No one said that to his arch-nemesis, especially one as smart as Slade. He patted me twice on the shoulder as his laughter died down.

"It's good to see that you haven't lost your sense of humor."

 _It's hard to laugh in this situation,_ I thought savagely.

For some reason I thought it odd that Slade even knew what Clash of the Planets was. In a way, it reminded me that he was also a fellow human being. There was a man underneath the mask who ate and breathed and laughed just like the rest of us. I just wasn't allowed to know him. Not while it posed a danger to his criminal standing.

"Like you care."

"Oh, I do. I'm not the cold-hearted monster that you think I am."

"Then why do I have a black eye?"

"Life lessons. Besides, you haven't been trying your hardest. That won't do, especially not when I have so much to teach you."

Some part of me was curious: what could Slade teach me? That had been a sincere question. If what Slade had to offer me was better than the hellhole I was in now, then should I accept his offer? Should I just accept this new life and enjoy the fringe benefits?

"Right now you are not a threat. It'll take a few years of training for you to become a threat."

"Insulting me isn't helping."

"True. However, you were a threat in Gotham because of your connection to Batman. If a crook saw you around, then he could correctly assume that Batman was nearby. Here in Jump you were a threat because of your team. But by yourself…I mean…come on: you may have had the best marital arts training money can buy, but you're not a threat. Not in the least.

"You asked what I can teach you. I can teach you how to become a threat, Dick. People only think you're a threat because of Batman. I'll teach people to fear you, and not fear by association."

How…was that really true? I tried to think back to those early crime-fighting days in Gotham. People never did fear me, did they? And here people respected me, but they would have never respected me if I didn't work with Batman. People always connected me with Batman. From the very moment I stepped into this city people automatically asked, "but aren't you supposed to be with…?"

I was always at the end of "Batman and Robin." So long as I wore the Robin costume, people would forever associate me with him. My thoughts, whirled and jumbled, prevented me paying attention to the rest of Slade's lecture.

"You'll learn how to steal…how to hack…and how to kill."

"How to kill?"

My stomach flipped at the thought. Bruce never taught me how to kill. He never would. And me…would I…could I do it? Taking another life is difference from stealing. Possessions can be replaced or rebuilt. But a life…a life couldn't be replicated. I can't pull a Catwoman and hand someone their life back. Finally raising my head, I looked at him straight in the face.

"Yes. You wanted to know who I am: I'm a mercenary. I'm going to teach you how to kill."

A mercenary? But if Slade was an assassin, then why was he playing the part of the big bad villain? It didn't make sense. Then again, it could be a part-time job. Slade seemed to be a much deeper guy than a hired hit man. He had a much bigger agenda, I was sure of that.

"No. I won't learn how to kill."

"We'll see what will happen in a few months," Slade said. "You'll change your mind. I guarantee it."

I tried to stand up, but he pushed me back down onto the chair. What could possibly make me change my mind? Coercion wouldn't do him any good. If he really wanted to brainwash me then why didn't he just torture me until I agreed with him? Why did he force me to talk to him so much?

"You're going to accompany me on a contract."

I was too tired to argue. Was Slade going to lecture me like this from now on? When I'm too tired to backtalk? I thought about arguing, but I simply allowed my shoulders to slump. Winning this argument wouldn't do me any good. My face throbbed angrily in pain. It wouldn't be so bad to let him win the argument if I agreed with him. At least then I would be temporarily free to ice down my face to reduce the swelling. Besides, I could always fight back later.

"Yes, sir."

Was he surprised that I agreed with him? I didn't know. That stupid mask prevented me from reading most of his emotions. Not that he was an overly emotional guy to begin with…

"You're excused. Now get out."

It took most of my self-control not to run out of the room. I walked out calmly, deliberately avoiding him as I headed back to my room. Once I was out of his sight, however, I did break into a run. The pain in my side didn't seem so bad anymore. Learning how to kill…

 _I can't do it,_ I thought, _but no…I can do it. I just won't do it._

Anyone could pull a trigger, but learning how to kill with your bare hands was a different kind of skill. One that involves brains. I learned how to determine causes of death with the world's greatest detective. Would I be forced to learn how to enact those causes under the guidance of the world's greatest mercenary?

 _God, I hope not,_ I thought. _Please…no…_

I leaned against the wall of my bedroom and allowed myself to slide to the floor. Right now, I was done with arguing. I was done with fighting. These past two weeks caught up with me. My friends seemed so far away from me. I couldn't talk to them. I couldn't talk to anyone except Slade or Wintergreen. But here…now…I didn't mind so much. Right now, I just wanted to nurse my injuries and mentally prepare myself for Slade's next lecture. Keeping my sanity was my immediate goal, and if I had to momentarily forget my friends to do it, then I would.

It wasn't, however, going to be a permanent thing.


	11. Down the Rabbit Hole

Dick quietly did whatever was asked of him, but I knew that he wasn't putting forth his best effort. Even after that lecture he still didn't put in much effort to whatever he was doing.

Dick was becoming wary of our conversations now. He tried to avoid talking as much as possible, but eventually he gave in and talked to either me or Wintergreen. More often it was Wintergreen. That was acceptable for now.

To be honest, I really couldn't force Dick to do anything without physically threatening to harm him. However, I noticed that he was getting into a routine. He did some things without being asked to. If he had an escape plan, then I couldn't tell. Hopefully he wasn't trying to escape. That would be annoying. Of course, anything he did was annoying if it was contrary to my agenda. Dick was adjusting in his own way. He understood who was in charge now. It had taken over two weeks to pound that into his head, but he eventually got it.

It was early evening. I left the Haunt earlier to take care of some outside business. In order to teach Dick how to kill I was going to bring him along on a contract. I spent most of my afternoon securing a contract. It wasn't anything spectacular. He wasn't going to do anything, but he was going to watch. I didn't care if he didn't want to learn. He didn't really have a choice in the matter.

When I came back Wintergreen had the news on as he cleaned my office. The volume was turned down low to a murmur. I didn't think much of it until I heard the name of a certain hero.

"Wait a moment..." I grabbed the remote and turned up the volume.

"...it's unclear whether sightings of Gotham's Dark Knight have been confirmed," the reporter said. "The Teen Titans are unavailable for comment."

"Well," Wintergreen said, "I expected him to come sooner."

"You are not helping."

Part of this puzzled me. Why would the Titans call in Batman? They know that Robin would not want them to call Batman. How would the boy feel if he knew that Batman was in town? Anger? Fear? I'm sure he wouldn't feel happy. Not after their falling-out. One thing was certain, though: I wasn't going to let him know that Batman was here.

Batman's presence presented a problem: he had the skills necessary to find us. I didn't want him bursting in here looking for a fight. I needed to bring the fight to him. Dick was nowhere near ready to beat Batman. Then again, did they necessarily need to fight each other for me to succeed?

"Ask him to come in," I told Wintergreen. "I'd like to speak with him."

It was barely eight. He would still be up. I sat at my desk and worked while I waited for Wintergreen to bring him out. I quickly planned out the lecture I was going to give him. Since these lectures did leave him feeling like crap I tried not to lecture him too much. Batman in Jump City, however, changed things.

What the hell is he doing here? I thought.

I thought about the possibility before, but it then it was just a possibility. Now it was reality. I needed to figure what to do now that Batman was getting involved.

Dick walked in. For some reason I could tell that these past few weeks had taken their toll on him. He held himself differently. It wasn't quite like the air of a hero, but that of an aggressor. He was prepared to fight. Yet at the same time I sensed his fear. He had no idea what was going to happen. That unpredicatability would always be my advantage.

"Good evening, Dick."

"Hmp."

"Try again."

"Good evening, sir," he said stiffly, forcing the words out.

"Better. Now take a seat."

He did as he was told without grumbling or manhandling the chair. The expression on his face clearly said, "What the hell do you want?" However, he just sat there and waited for me to say something.

"So, what have you been doing all evening?" I asked pleasantly.

"Staring at my wall."

"How productive."

I was trying to joke with him, but he didn't want to joke around. He was taking this way too seriously. Honestly, if he just lightened up a little everything would be fine. Maybe he didn't believe that I was the kind of person to joke. Well, this whole apprenticeship wasn't supposed to be taken lightly, but perhaps for now I should be a little less informal. That would put his guard down. Dick shifted in his chair and stared sullenly into space. He knew that I asked him to come here for another reason. He didn't want to deal with idle chitchat. I continued to work on my files as I spoke to him.

"Why don't you take off your mask?"

"Because I'm not required to." He looked at me warily. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, right now I don't want to talk to Robin. I want to talk to Dick."

He knew that I was going to ask him to take the mask off sooner or later. I hope it didn't as a surprise. His expression stayed neutral. After a moment Dick took the mask off of his face. He didn't make a fuss about it. I said nothing more about it. I didn't want this to be a big issue. Without the mask he looked even more vulnerable. He tried to avoid my gaze as he shifted in his chair.

"I do have a…somewhat personal question to ask, Dick."

He glared at me coldly, not even bothering to hide the dislike on his face. He knew that I was going to ask the question anyway. He knew that he didn't have a say in anything I made him do anymore. He shut his eyes tightly, as though willing himself to stay calm.

"That alien girl…Starfire, is it?"

"…yeah…?"

"I've read your files. I've read hers. Your team formed because of that girl, right?"

"So?"

"Do you like her?"

He didn't speak. His mouth opened slightly, as though he was surprised that I asked the question. True, I asked the question rather bluntly...

He moved fast, much faster than I anticipated. Dick knocked his chair down as he lunged towards me. I couldn't help but notice that he used some of the moves I taught him. Or, at least, he tried to. He punched me in the gut and tried to kick me in the balls. He missed, but he kept fighting. He jabbed his palm underneath my chin. My head snapped backwards. I lost my breath as Dick hit my neck again. He continued to relentlessly attack me until my back was against the wall. He grabbed my neck with both of his hands.

"Don't," he growled, "you dare touch her."

It was amazing what he could accomplish when he put his mind to it. I had no idea that goading about the girl would get him this aggressive. I couldn't help but chuckle.

"This isn't funny, Slade! If you touch her I'll put you in a body cast for the next six months."

"You won't. You don't have the physical capacity to do that."

I quickly disengaged myself, picked him up and threw him to the floor. "Don't do that ever again. You're becoming predictable and tiresome."

He didn't move. For a moment I was afraid that I knocked him out. Dick just laid there, trying to gather his breath. I also tried to catch my breath. He nearly caught me off-guard. I didn't realize that taunting him would produce such a violent reaction. But, considering the fact that Starfire knew that Dick was Red X, I needed to break that friendship down completely before they faced each other again.

"You can threaten me all you want," Dick said, "but if you touch her...if you threaten her..."

"So I'm assuming that the answer is yes?"

Dick's face darkened. "Don't jump to conclusions."

Again, I chuckled.

"You know, Dick," I said, "your Batman imitation is pretty weak. You wear your heart on your sleeve."

I grabbed his arm and yanked him to his feet. "I don't need to be the world's greatest detective to figure this one out."

A thousand different thoughts were probably going through my apprentice's mind. His initial anger subsided. I hoped he realized that most of this was his fault. His reactions betrayed the truth of what I said.

"Don't hurt her," he repeated, although his tone was much more subdued.

Threatening others always tempered his anger. He truly was afraid of losing his friends. Although his tone was defiant I detected a hint of uneasiness. I thought about my original plan to blackmail him. It would have worked, but for how long? This sudden attack demonstrated that he could act aggressively when he needed to. If I got rid of the threat or if he found a way around it I could very well fail.

"I can't promise that I won't hurt her. After all, she is trying to put me in jail. Sit down." He picked up the chair and sat down again. I walked over to the television monitors and began to play footage of the young Tamaranean. "Have you been smitten ever since she kissed you?"

Flush crept up his neck and turned his ears red. He didn't say anything. I didn't need him to say anything.

"Tamaraneans have the ability to pick up new languages via lip contact," I said. "Did you know that, Dick?"

He shook his head slowly, still not daring to speak. He really didn't know, did he? How funny.

"I suppose it's easy to be persuaded by a kiss…no matter how fake it is."

Even though I didn't ask I could still see why he liked her. I was his age once, I knew the reasons why. Obviously there were hundreds of other reasons I didn't know. I didn't care enough to want to know. The alien girl would grow up to be a proud and beautiful woman. It's odd, sometimes, when one notices that in a younger person. Yet the alien was full of flaws as well. She would not do as a lover for the apprentice of a criminal mastermind. He needed to dump her.

"Men like us, Dick, are attracted to very powerful women."

Hah. Powerful women indeed. Adeline was my commanding officer, after all.

"W—what?"

He looked so confused.

"Listen to me: we're not attracted to ordinary women. We have standards. High standards."

We were so very much alike, and alike in ways that neither of us realized yet. I never thought about our separate love lives before. I didn't think that it would be necessary to talk about the boy's obvious crush on the alien girl. But now...it was necessary.

"You...women..."

He wasn't being coherent. Dick crinkled his brow, as though trying to see through my mask. Instead of answering the obvious question I directed the conversation back to him. I couldn't allow him time to defend himself. I had to keep throwing questions and comments at him until he became flustered.

"She's powerful. Much more powerful than you. Is that why you like her?"

"I…what…?"

"How can you trust her? Trust someone who almost started an intergalactic war? Love a girl who pushes you down after giving you a kiss?"

"…She cares for me…"

"Does she?" I demanded. "Or are you so blinded by your own hormones that you can't even tell that she doesn't like you?"

This was cruel in its own right. I obviously caught him off guard. He couldn't summon the words to defend himself. Was I mocking him? In my own way, yes. Mocking the boy for his affections was certainly going to incite a negative reaction. Already I could tell that he was going to hate me for this.

Attacking Batman would only get me so far. I had to dig deeper into his psyche and discover what was truly going on in his head. Even though I could see his face, it's still baffling trying to figure out what was happening in a person's mind. Because really, all we see is a mask: the face we put on to the world may betray nothing internal.

A child's face betrays the most. And even though Dick had experience hiding his face and identity from the world he made the mistake of entwining his civilian identity and his superhero identity into one. He should have separated the two. He should have told his friends his secret identity. If he did that then he would have cemented his friendships even more strongly.

And, though it may not be my place to comment, he was too weak to declare his love for her before now.

"What…what do you know about her?" he asked weakly. "I..."

What was he trying to say? That he loved her?

Love is bitter, kid. Love and life will disappoint. It was an odd question. I didn't expect him to be so blunt. We were heading into dangerous territory. Adeline was something I only talked to Wintergreen about. However, I had already revealed too much about myself. My bitter words about powerful women said enough. Dick could deduce that I used to have a lover who betrayed me. That was all he needed to know.

"Women will stab you in the back," I replied quietly. "Those powerful…beautiful women will rip your heart out. Don't trust them. You never can. It's best that you learn that now."

If he was going to fight the Titans then I didn't want him distracted by women, especially the alien girl. This strategy—attacking his crush—was unorthodox and puerile to be sure, but it was effective. Instead of letting him leave the conversation I continued to attack him.

"You're rather fond of redheads, aren't you?"

Perhaps he was so paralyzed by the amount of information I knew that he couldn't speak. I wondered what would be worse: mocking his current crush on the alien girl or talking about another?

"Batgirl…she's a redhead, isn't she?" I asked. "You liked her too, didn't you?"

He just stared at me, his expression both sad and horrified. How cute. He could claim that he acted like an adult, but he was still immature in a lot of ways. He was a lot more emotional than he wanted to admit. I knew that just by watching the news reels from when he worked with Batman. He suppressed so much of his natural personality. That was unhealthy.

This Batgirl, though...of course she wouldn't like him. He was just a kid. He knew that. Maybe that's why he was reacting so badly to this taunt.

"She dismissed you, didn't she? Laughed at you, perhaps?" I shrugged. "Called it puppy love?"

Adeline was also a few years older than I was. But she saw something in me, something in that young naive soldier that impressed her. I don't know what. Those few years of marriage between us felt real to me. I could only hope that they felt real to her. We didn't need to prove anything to each other. Our love was mutual. Dick's crushes were one-sided. I could use that against him.

"Are you constantly seeking someone else's approval?" I asked. "You're always conforming to someone else's standards. What kind of a relationship is that?"

He felt that he wasn't good enough for anyone. Dick was always trying to better himself. A worth objective, to be sure, but he couldn't better himself for the sake of other people. He couldn't keep saving people for no reason. He couldn't keep believing that he wasn't good enough for the women he loved. I knew that I was breaking him down. I knew that I wasn't helping. But you can't become better unless you face the facts.

Dick bowed his head and studied the floor. "Are you going to keep doing this to me? Tell me why each of my friends don't trust me anymore?"

"Until you understand that they don't trust you, Dick."

Despite the bravado, he really was an affectionate human being. He loved people. And his friends would come to his aid. I knew that. I just didn't want him to believe that they would. Once they lost all faith in him then they would truly abandon him, and he would abandon them. I had to manipulate both sides.

"I want you to sit there and think your life over, Dick, " I said quietly. "Wayne won't give you the affection you want. Your friends will abandon you. And your crush will fade out and die within the next few months."

I've been hinting these things for over two weeks, but it finally seemed to hit him now. If he couldn't find an adequate enough reason to defend his beliefs and his friends, then he would be gone. Convincing him to distrust Wayne was the easiest part. Getting him to distrust his friends would be a much greater challenge. There was already a wide gap between Dick and Wayne. Attacking his weakest point...his affection for the alien...was the next step.

"I'll be back in an hour. Do not move, apprentice. Do not speak. Just sit there and think."

If I offended him with my instructions, then he didn't show it. I gathered my files and left the room. Wintergreen, who was standing just outside of the room, closed the door behind me. Together we walked back towards the main room.

"You lied to him," Wintergreen whispered.

"About what?"

"About you. You can't just hint that you have a personal life and then leave it at that."

"I will teach him however I please."

"Slade, you have to stop lecturing him."

"Why?"

"Why? Because you're driving him crazy. If you keep this up he's going to be angry not only at his mentor, but also at you. He'll be angry that you told him the truth about Batman." Wintergreen's voice hardened. "And you know what's it's like to be a father, Slade. You know how to love your children."

There he went again: mentioning my kids. I stopped walking to look at him.

"Where are you going with this?"

"You told him that Wayne will never give him the parental affection he wants. He lost his parents at a very young age. Don't work him to death. Give him a reason to believe that he can trust you."

"Why are you saying this now?"

"Because right now he needs someone to look up to." He shook his head. "You just destroyed him, Slade. I hope you understand that."

Wintergreen walked away, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

As I walked into the security room I swore I heard Dick sniffle on the camera. I paused. Once before I wondered if I could make him cry. Now I knew the answer. He hunched over, his shoulders shuddering as he fought back his tears. He didn't try to leave the room. He just sat there, finally collapsing into a breakdown. I truly didn't know what was going on inside his head. Was he gathering his hate for me? Or was he thinking about all of his mistakes? One thing was certain, though:

It was time to let him out of the Haunt.


	12. Chapter 11: Decisions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long to update. I'll try to be more consistent!

"In the little world in which children have their existence whosoever brings them up, there is nothing so finely perceived and so finely felt, as injustice."

-Charles Dickens, Great Expectations, pg. 60.

* * *

 

**Chapter 11: Decisions**

Perhaps there was truth in Slade's words. A bitter, cold truth that I avoided at all costs. I didn't understand how such a distant, unemotional guy could break my mind down like that when I couldn't even figure myself out. I had every chance to get up and leave the room, but I sat there and cried like a child.

As an orphan, one cannot help but feel like a piece of baggage thrown about from guardian-to-guardian. I wasn't supposed to be here, but where else could I be? I had no familial relations left. The circus people were unable to adopt me. Originally, I wanted to stay with them rather than be fostered by Bruce Wayne. If I had stayed with them like I wanted, then none of this would've happened. I didn't belong here. An orphan just drifts about, and even if he knows where he belongs he doesn't have the means to be there. He's always vulnerable to his elders and betters. At least, that's how I felt as a child.

Even now, as a teenager, I felt as though I still didn't have a say. I cried because I was always going to be pushed around. I cried because I didn't know what to think or believe or do anymore. I wasn't Superman. Punching through walls and leaping buildings in a single bound was only a fantasy. I couldn't fight my way out of here. I wasn't Batman either, though. I wasn't intelligent enough to outsmart Slade. Slade was right about that. He was right about a lot of things.

 _Is he really?_ I thought. _Or does he speak with such powerful conviction that I can't help but agree?_

My eyes stung with tears over the injustice of this all. At that moment I knew that I wouldn't be able to escape. Hearing Slade mock me so mercilessly just pushed me over the edge. I wasn't prepared for that. Not at all. All at once I felt like a little kid again. I didn't want Slade to see me cry. I was afraid of being emotionally hurt again. I didn't want him to know that he got to me.

I couldn't hear the gears from the main room here. It was eerily silent in this room. His computer hummed. In normal circumstances I would have tried to hack into his computer, but I was too depressed to care. The hot tears flooding my eyes blurred my vision.

"Richard..."

Wintergreen. I didn't even hear him come in. I wiped my face with the back of my hand. "Go away."

My tears were silently running down my face. I wasn't trying to stop them now. If I was going to cry, then I wanted to cry while Slade and Wintergreen were away. They could at least let me have the privacy to cry on my own time. To my surprise he handed me a box of tissues. Wintergreen didn't say anything as he took a seat next to me.

There is something about silence that is comforting at times. Am I contradicting myself? Not at all. The weight of silence varies. It is a malleable thing. Facing silence alone, with time dragging you along by the scruff of your neck, makes it nearly unbearable. But when you face such loud silence with someone it becomes bearable.

It was awkward, yes, but Wintergreen was showing compassion when Slade deliberately did not. Wintergreen took the time to just sit there in silence. For some reason, him being there calmed me down. I didn't feel so alone. And to be honest, I didn't want him to say anything.

The tears stopped, but I was still in the process of calming myself down. I said nothing. Why should I say anything? Slade made it clear that anything I said could be used against me. Even if I did occasionally talk to Wintergreen I knew that he would repeat our conversation back to Slade.

Wintergreen stood up and sighed.

"Come with me. I want to show you something."

"What?"

My mind didn't seem to be working properly. Wintergreen never tried to talk to me. He would listen when I talked to him and occasionally offer his opinion, but never anything more than that. Wintergreen was too loyal to Slade to be of much help to me. I raised my head to look at him.

"Just trust me."

"But Slade told me not to leave..."

I didn't want to make Slade angry. The lecture he just gave me wasn't full of anger, but...what did I feel? Slade said those things to make me feel like crap. I felt trapped, even when Slade wasn't there. I felt trapped everywhere around here. Every atom in my body told me not to move. It would be safer if I followed Slade's instructions. That was what my instincts told me to do.

"Let me worry about that." Wintergreen gestured for me to stand up. "It's all right. I'm not going to hurt you."

I didn't know what to do. Slade told me to do whatever Wintergreen told me to do...but Slade told me not to leave. I was confused. When I didn't move Wintergreen stepped forward and put his hands on my shoulders.

"You'll be fine, Richard."

Part of me didn't believe him, but I accepted his comforting words. My feelings were so hurt that I wanted someone—anyone—to tell me that things would turn out OK. Wintergreen let his hands fall to his side. Without another word he turned and left the room. For a few seconds I sat stubbornly in my chair. I was really confused.

_Oh what the hell._

I stood up and followed him, my shoulders hunched and my eyes cast to the floor. Once Wintergreen heard me following he paused to allow me to catch up. Together we walked in silence to an unfamiliar part of the Haunt. He unlocked a door and stepped back to let me through. Immediately I noticed that this room felt different from the other rooms in the Haunt. The Haunt had a strict military feel. Slade didn't mess with much decoration or anything unnecessary. So it was strange, really, to see this room, which was lined with bookshelves.

"Where...where are we?"

"My office."

I looked around, as though expecting Slade to burst in any second. I half-expected a trap. If Slade's "training" has taught me anything, it taught me how to be paranoid. My weight shifted from foot-to-foot as I stood there. I couldn't keep still. Why did Wintergreen want to bring me here? The butler gestured towards the bookshelves.

"I'm afraid that there may not be anything here you may like to read," Wintergreen said, "but perhaps you may something suitable to read."

Was he offering me...something to read? My mind didn't quite comprehend. I stared at him in disbelief for a long while.

"What...is this?"

"You become destructive when you don't have anything to do," Wintergreen said. "I just thought that this might lift your spirits."

What did I have left to lose? I ran my fingers over the spines of the books. Back at the Tower I didn't have time to read. I was always working. I didn't really have time to do anything fun, now that I thought about it.

In a way, being forcibly separated from my friends forced me to step back and examine my life. There were so many things I didn't have the time to do. Was that Bruce's doing? Was that my doing?

There weren't many books there that I was interested in, but the kind gesture was more than enough. A sudden rush of gratitude overwhelmed me. Slade didn't treat me like a human being with emotional needs and wants. Wintergreen was prepared to face Slade's wrath for deliberately disobeying Slade's orders. That was more than anyone had done for me in a long time.

"Thank you, Wintergreen."

His face softened. I don't think I ever said thank you to the butler since I arrived. Slade was right: I wasn't acting like a hero. I was rude to Wintergreen. Maybe Wintergreen was so used to verbal abuse that he didn't think twice of my insults. I don't think he was surprised to hear those words, but perhaps he didn't expect me to care enough to say them.

"You're welcome, Richard. I told you that if you ever need anything you only need to ask."

Part of me was mad that Wintergreen wasn't Alfred, but then again what else could I expect? Wintergreen wasn't the kind of guy who comforted people, but he also wasn't Slade. Wintergreen showed his compassion in other ways. However, I don't think he would ever offer me anything more than a few comforting words and gestures. Unlike Alfred, he would probably not try to get to know me well. And why would he? The only thing we had in common was that both of us worked for Slade. That was the extent of our relationship. Wintergreen had no reason to help me or to pity me, but he did so anyway.

I picked up a copy of _The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn._ There were no "fun" books per say here, but there were enough to keep me occupied. Part of me wondered if I ever did finish reading Huckleberry Finn for school. I couldn't remember.

"It's still early," Wintergreen said, "you can stay here for an hour or two if you want."

"I guess...well...I don't know...Slade said..."

Nothing he said could ease the tension I felt. Indeed, the flesh between my shoulder blades felt tightly knotted. I was so tired. Not just from the fighting, but mentally tired from talking to Slade. How could I ever relax? As though he sensed my anxiety, Wintergreen shrugged.

"It's fine. It is only a suggestion."

Another wave of depression washed over me. Wintergreen was the only person around here who treated me with any sense of decency, but that didn't mean that I belonged here. No matter how nice anyone here treated me, I would always feel threatened. I would never be allowed to leave. I'd never feel at home here.

As the minutes passed Wintergreen ignored me. He sat down at his desk and began to read a newspaper.

"Wintergreen?"

"What?"

When he saw me glance at the newspaper he put it away before I could read the headline. Was I not allowed to read the news? Wintergreen's actions seemed to suggest that my information about the outside world was being severely controlled. I pushed that unpleasant thought to the back of my mind.

"Do you think that I'm the right choice? That I can be Slade's apprentice?"

He gazed at me curiously. Was he ever asked his opinion about these things? Did Slade ever consult him for guidance, just as Bruce talked to Alfred? Something told me that Wintergreen didn't raise him like Alfred raised Bruce.

"I think that is up to you to decide," Wintergreen replied. "He certainly chose someone who has the capability to become great."

He was being honest. I didn't take Wintergreen to be the guy who would lie to my face. Either he honestly believed what Slade said or he actually cared. Really, I wanted to see the good in him. If it was possible, I wanted to see some scrap of good in Slade too. Was I being too hopeful? Was my situation so bleak that I wanted to see hope? Maybe.

"He's right, you know," I said. "About everything."

"Then why don't you tell him yourself?"

"Because right now I just want to punch something in the face." I looked up at him. "Not you, though."

"I'm glad to hear it," Wintergreen replied, "but if you're so frustrated I suggest that you go to the gym. I'm sure the punching bag deserves your wrath."

"Wait...I'm allowed to go to the gym?"

"You always have been."

I didn't know this. If this was Slade talking he would have added a sardonic comment, but not Wintergreen. When I was first trapped here I tried to punch Wintergreen. Although it was clear that Wintergreen could hold his own he didn't deserve to be punched. I rubbed my eyes, still crusty from my tears, and fought back a desire to yawn.

Half an hour ago I almost felt suicidal, but now I didn't care. I still felt like crap, to be sure, but I felt as though I needed to distance myself away from my feelings for Starfire. It was hard to do that, but I didn't want Slade to mock me again.

Although similar thoughts have been swirling in my mind before, I wondered again if I could benefit from this apprenticeship? Was there something here I could live for? Could I really better myself this way? Educate myself? Without the Titans to distract me I'd have time to focus on myself.

 _What if I continued playing the part of Red X?_ I thought. _Why didn't I continue to play the part when Slade discovered who I was?_ I should have stayed a thief if I knew that he wanted an apprentice.

The bitterness building up inside me solidified my decision. I wasn't going to go anywhere as Robin. Not even as Dick Grayson. I could sit and cry all I wanted, but that wasn't going to help me in the slightest. I had to get off of my butt and fight back.

Did I have the nerve to talk to Slade again tonight? No, I didn't. Despite the fact that I was too emotionally and mentally unable to speak to him I made a decision, a decision that wouldn't get my head knocked off. It might have been a stupid decision, but again, what did I have left to lose?

 _I can do this,_ I thought. _I can beat him. And if it means being his apprentice, then that's what I will do._

"I should probably go to bed," I said. "I'm tired."

Wintergreen shrugged. I left the room with the book tucked underneath my arm. Slade wouldn't lecture me for taking that, would he? No, he wouldn't. I was just being paranoid again. I walked down the long, winding corridor that led back to my room. After a few weeks I finally succeeded in memorizing the layout of this place.

My victories, though small, would eventually add up. My initial goal to discover Slade's plan was, I guess, a success. I learned that he was looking for an apprentice, a successor to help him enact his future plans. Instead of trying to escape to contact the Titans I needed to learn from him. Only then, when I learned his back-story and weaknesses, would I be able to bring him to justice.

I couldn't stand being mocked any more. If I was going to be stuck here then I wanted Slade to treat me with some respect. Accepting his "help" would be a step forward. Maybe this crazy plan of mine would push me deeper into the dark side, but I had no other choice. I was in too deep enough as it was.

In time I would escape. Slade would teach me the skills necessary to defeat him. For the time being, I was going to accept my role as Slade's apprentice.


End file.
